Recently I was asked by Jennifer over at Pink Heels to see if I would be interested in writing a blog for the site. She had saw a recent post where I had described that you can get a great professional looking site for under $100. This weekend I wrote up the first article for the Pink Heels site, and I think I am scheduled to start a weekly column over there for her and her readers to help demystify technology. I have included the original article I wrote below. Let me know what you think.
Peace
Frank
Introduction to Social Media for the Everyday Person
If you look around online these days or pick up any marketing or technology publication you will see a great deal of discussion all centered on the idea of Social Media. Social Media is all the buzz, and for good reason it is changing the way we interact of a variety of levels these days. So if Social Media is all around us what is it exactly, and what can it do to help me out in my business or personal life?
If you were to look around online for the definition of Social Media you will get a variety of answers, and some of them sound like they are right out of a text book. My goal is to help break down all of this in a way that everyone can understand it and make it useful.
What is Social Media? Well simply put it is about people having conversations online. It is really just that simply. Sure there is a lot more to how it is done, the tools that you use, and how effective you are, but at the end of the day it all boils down to people communicating to one another online.
So now they we have taken some of the mystery out of it, let dive into the subject a bit more and discuss why it is important, and how is it changing our lives.
On the business side this has changed the way that businesses communicate with their clients. In the past the marketing departments would use all of their budgets to create an elaborate marketing campaign that was more like a monologue or broadcast directly to consumers. While this is somewhat effective, it is only one way and does not allow for people to really embrace the product or service, and leads consumers to feel as though they are being yelled or preached to when they see the ads.
Now imagine a world where companies can have an open dialogue with their clients, where the conversation is multi directional. Both the client and the consumer have the ability to share their ideas, thoughts, and opinions of a product, or service with one another. Let’s look at this also in a world where consumers feel like nobody is on their side, and they long for the days where customer service was king, and brands cared about their customers.
Enter the world of Social Media. Think about it when you want to know about a new product or service, and whether it is any good you ask your friends, and you value their judgment over any ad you see on TV or read in a magazine. At its very core Social Media is social, talking and interacting with people. Companies that understand this and embrace this new world are going to be the market leaders in customer service, brand loyalty, and overall consumer satisfaction.
So you see the light at the end of the tunnel, and you know that is where you want to be, now let’s start moving in that direction. One of the hurdles is know how and where to get started. Well that is why I am here to help. While you really need to look at this as an overall integration to your existing marketing efforts, as well as changing the way you do business, you can really break it all down into a couple of simple steps initially.
Step 1 – Listen! Sounds easy, but that is not always the case. You need to get your get out there and listen on networks, blogs and sites where your product, service or industry is being talked about. Look at sites like the ones listed below and get yourself on them today! Remember conversations about your product are all around you, and come in a variety of forms of media. Some sites to get you started on your immersion are:
1. www.facebook.com
2. www.myspace.com
3. www.youtube.com
4. www.twitter.com
5. www.digg.com
6. www.friendfeed.com
7. www.technorati.com
8. www.linkedin.com
9. www.ning.com
10. www.flickr.com
Ok so you have joined these networks, and have listened in stage 1, and feel like you are ready to move onto phase 2. Well this is good point to take a pause and make sure you have really listened in stage one. It is crucial that you have really listened in, and understand the dynamics of your group. Not understanding how your groups interact will really hurt your ability to interact, and not feel like a salesperson.
Step 2 – Participate! Listening is the first step, and now that you have that down, you should start to actually participate slightly with the group. I would approach this gradually, and work your way into the group. Remember you want to join the group and be seen as a member of the community, NOT a corporate sponsor telling people why you are the best in your industry. Trust me this will come with time. People that are able to integrate themselves into the community really gain a great deal of knowledge.
Step 3 – Engage! This is where you start to give more back to the community. You want to create dialogs with people that allow them to gain a better understanding of your brand, while not seeming like a salesman. This will take some finesse but will get easier over time. Create a dialogue with your customers, track their opinions of your products, and see what they are saying about your product. Begin to build out your presence in these various new forms of social communities, and allow your consumers to really engage with your brand, not just hear your one sided marketing or advertising efforts
This is only the beginning and trust me you can not master all there is to know in one post or article. I can tell you that embracing this Social Media movement is easy to get started. With all of the various tools out there you can get started today. If you look at the steps involved you will see that even if you simply try you will gain from the experience. At the core of this whole Social Media push there are some basic common messages that if you remember to focus on you should be well on your way.
o You are cultivating relationships with customers as well as those that will soon become your customers.
o This requires a more customer centric view point, you need to engage with your customers, not just push marketing and advertising messages at them.
o New ways of communicating with customers, remember dialogue not monologue.
So what are you waiting for go out today and start engaging with your customer of today and tomorrow.
Good Luck, and let me know how it goes.
Frank
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