Recently, I asked the same question to our resident social media expert. I was feeling the primer she provided a year ago might require some considerable updating. I braced myself for new tools, new uses and new technologies to grasp.
Turns out like any new bright and shiny communication tool, the frenzy of possibilities in the beginning seem endless. But then the dust settles, folks start using the technology day-to-day, and the real uses and benefits are realized.
Here’s what I learned (so far…):
More people have access and are comfortable with the tools.More than ever people have access to devices that link their social media networks together, from iPads to Kins, making it a viable business communications tool to reach your main market.
Local, more directed communications are the way to go.
The entire world is most likely not interested in what you have to say, be more targeted.
Side Note: Not quite sure about hyper-local campaigns having business relevance e.g. Foursquare. Could be that places, products and services are rated by people you trust and can relate to with no “middle man” to skew the ratings? I guess time will tell.
Not all social media tools are created equal, at least not to your audience.
The market has filtered the strongest tools to the top. Choose the few that work for you and your audience and concentrate your efforts on them.
With a few years under its belt, social media can now be measured and trends observed. The proof is in the numbers and they are now more credible and available.
Companies can now measure the success of campaigns and then, based on their results, structure campaigns that will be most effective. This decreases the amount of time and money spent on campaigns that will not reach your audience.
Content is still king. Make it fresh, relevant and robust.
News, updates, and the ability to make connections keeps your audience “tuned in.” Don’t bore them with in-depth industry articles, accolades or your long winded opinions. Rule of thumb, quick, short snippets of information on a regular basis are easier for the average audience to consume day-to-day.
The shock factor is not necessary to get attention.
Unless you are Lady GaGa, you really don’t need a viral video to bring in business. Does a high YouTube ranking mean anything if the majority of viewers are not in your audience? Target your audience and speak to them appropriately.
So what’s new in Social Media? Turns out not much. Social media is another communications tool. As a marketer, you need to start asking the same basic questions you’ve always asked.
Remember the days when we were perfectly fine not knowing where everyone was all the time. When we could just go through our day completely unaware that our best friend was picking up a sandwich from Subway. Well, the world is not what it used to be.
With the increased popularity of applications such as FourSquare, sites such as Yelp, and services such as Yodle, we are constantly being connected to the people and places around us, even if we are unaware of it happening. In the last 3 months, I have noticed a drastic increase in the use of Foursquare. People declaring their “mayor”-hood of the coffee shop around the corner or their favorite burger joint. Being a Foursquare mayor basically means going to a place and telling people the most.
So what does this mean for social media? It means that people are starting to think of these tools as a way to connect to their local community instead of the global community. The trend seems to be piggy-backing on the larger “think globally, act locally” mantra. The tools we are using are global, but the way we are using them is connecting us more to our direct communities. Although social media can still be used to keep in contact with people around the world, it is having a bigger impact on those places and people closest to us.
We can find an area restaurant since their SEO has been “upped” by Yodle, go there cause we read glowing reviews on Yelp, and then Foursquare that we are there. Has there ever been a time when your community has been more accessible?
However, although I do love late night Chinese food…am unsure if I want the world to know I could be “mayor” of the New Hong Kong.
In the last few weeks Twitter has come out with their latest feature, Lists. The basic function of Lists is to allow users to group people into separate categories based on interests and location, or pretty much anything they can think of. The Lists can be comprised of anyone who is a Twitter user without a protected account. Once a List is created, other people can follow it.
I am still attempting to use Lists and have been monitoring other people’s use of them. One benefit I can see from the new function is that it makes it easier to follow those people you are most interested in. Once a user is following over 500 people, updates from those that are most important to you are easily lost in the stream. By creating a list, those updates and connections can be much easier to keep track of.
Tweetdeck has actually been using their own version of Lists for a while. Users could create their own categories, but can only include people they followed. Twitter takes that prerequisite out of the equation.
How can businesses us Twitter Lists?
Businesses can use Lists in order to organize their contacts and optimize the time they spend on Twitter. One of the arguments against using Twitter for business purposes is that it takes too much time. Lists allow you to organize that time so you can keep updated on the contacts that will deliver the most value.
For example, at CGI we would utilize the Lists by people’s interest in our services, Flash, PowerPoint, video, web. We could then answer people’s questions in those area’s more efficiently and hence decrease the amount of time we are looking around our account to answer specific questions.
Have you used Lists? Do you feel it is one way Twitter is setting themselves up in order to eventually earn revenue?
Millions of people use Facebook as it has become a very popular way to communicate, connect and share. To some people it may seem like another distraction and to others it’s a communication tool.
Here at CGI, we want to connect with you. There are constantly newly completed projects (some we’re not allowed to share) we’d like to get your feedback on including flash, websites and powerpoint.
You can become a fan of CGI Interactive on Facebook if you have a Facebook account so we may stay connected with you. As well, you can give us feedback, write on our wall, leave comments, catch our updates, etc..
We all love the videos. Those YouTube clips that make us laugh, that we share with our friends, and then quickly forget about. With the immense amount of information we gather daily, it is hard to make something stand out unless it is supported by multiple platforms and ideas.
Mark Earls, marketing guru, recently spoke at the 4As conference on the “Big Idea” concept. Too frequently, as marketers, we become caught up with our most recent “Big Idea.” We want something flashy, but forget that it is not just a single idea that creates long term brand awareness and, ultimately, loyal customers. Instead Mark suggests a lot of little ideas, building on each other, all to support a larger goal. This could also include cross-channel marketing techniques to carry your idea across multiple platforms that support the initiative.
By integrating a succession of ideas, potential customers become familiarized with your product and brand instead of simply laughing and leaving. Implement a long-term process of projects that support each other across multiple platforms to build a strong, structural marketing plan.
