Diving into Social Media

Social Media Has Arrived... how will you deal with it?

Alex de CarvalhoDirector, Scrapblog.com

twitter.com/alexdchttp://www.coxandforkum.com/

How can we tell that social media has “arrived”? Well, for one thing, you’re here watching me talk about social media (and I’m honored to have your time) ...

http://www.briansolis.com/2008/02/get-rich-quick-with-social-media.html

... but another sign is that the term social media has hit critical mass and people --snake-oil salesmen, really-- are trying to make money off it, distressingly. This is not what social media is about! ...

http://www.socialmediatelesummit.com/2008/

... and neither is this (ie., “create the lifestyle of your dreams”???!) ...

http://neekam.com/contest.html

... blogging isn’t a gimmick (and does involve some risk and a lot of work!) ...

http://neekam.com/

... and the internet “2.0” is not a new frontier, nor is it the wild west. It is a new way of doing business, though, and Marketers in particular are trying to deal with it.

12:35 PM anon: I am continually running up against the big consulting firms on getting clients, which is not a place I enjoy12:35 PM Alex: really?12:36 PM anon: I have not run across McKinsey12:37 PM anon: Deloitte, BeringPoint, and Booz Hamilton are all digging in12:37 PM anon: Accenture is as well12:37 PM anon: I am also running up against the big communications firms like PorterNovelli and WPP12:38 PM Alex: Interesting ...12:40 PM anon: all of the companies I am talking to are trying to work out a budget as they have committed into 7 figures with the big firms12:40 PM anon: very little room for 4 to 5 figure help12:40 PM Alex: 7 figures?12:41 PM anon: mostly spent on understanding, strategy and implementation12:42 PM anon: don't know anybody who has made it to implementation yet

A renowned social media thinker mentioned to me that large consultancies are helping blue-chips understand social media ... and are charging hefty sums for this!

http://artofthecookie.com/

Here’s an example of an implementation, something that is supposedly social media but in reality is just one big advertisement, as explained by ...

http://overtonecomm.blogspot.com/2008/01/i-finally-had-chance-to-read-few-back.html

...Kami Huyse. Apparently, the budget for this project was $2 to $3 million! The most interactive part of this “social media” project is and e-mail newsletter sign-up!

Determine goals first and break them out into short-, medium- and long-term

Don't get into social media if you're not planning to stick with it over the long-term

http://www.psywww.com/intropsych/ch07_cognition/learning_curve.htmlGraph by Russell A. Dewey, PhD

Determine goals first and break them out into short-, medium- and long-term. Don't get into social media if you're not planning to stick with it over the long-term. There is a learning curve; don't expect immediate results for at least three months, whatever your objectives may be.

Set objectives at the outset, and not just quantitative objectives

Figure out what is measurable

Have systems to track progress

Keep a journal

Share positive and negative feedback from customers with the organization

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ansik/304526237/

Discussing and setting objectives at the outset, and not just quantitative objectives. Figure out what is measurable and be sure to include the systems to track progress. If systems to track qualitative results are not in place, then keep a journal and also be sure to share positive and negative feedback from customers with the organization.

Customer Service is Key

You're breaking down the membrane that exists between your customers and your organization

People will give feedback

Have a system in place to deal with these problems and requests

http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/001607.html

Customer (Client) Service is Key: When you reach out to people, you're breaking down the membrane that exists between your customers and your organization. A is your company. B are your customers. X is the membrane between your customers and your company. Y is the universe of conversations about your company. This means that people will give feedback about what's working and more importantly, what's not. Be sure to have a system in place to deal with these problems and requests. Customer service is key, and social media changes the feedback loop by multiplying customers' access to the organization.

Learn how to listen and spend time listening

Advertising, marketing and PR broadcasts crafted messages to consumers

Social Media is about conversations and relationships.

"Information is a noun; to inform is a verb". Information is social. If you don't listen to people, they will not trust you.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/banlon1964/46324162/

Learn how to listen and spend a long time listening. So much of advertising, marketing and PR has been about broadcasting crafted messages to consumers (and then managing feedback though outsourced centers thousands of miles away!). Social Media is about conversations and relationships. Someone said "Information is a noun; to inform is a verb". To inform is a social activity: people pay attention to those they trust. If you don't listen to people, they will not trust you.

Hire people who are familiar with and have been using social media

http://www.flickr.com/photos/celesteh/397931208/

Hire people who are familiar with and have been using social media; they're most likely to understand online culture and behaviors and to be competent in the technologies (for instance, blogging). Most importantly, they're already up on the learning curve and can train the rest of the organization. And geeks are cool, because theyʼre passionate ;)

Hire people who are a part of the community

Fan, Evangelist, Respected, Identified

But also...

Change agent

Not Buffer!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dario_471/174440284/

Hire people who are part of the community. They understand the product, the company, the industry and are respected by their community. They're change agents for the company and evangelists with their peers. Understand that they're in between a rock and a hard place, because they're bridging the gap between the company's priorities and the community's interests. Trust these people and address their concerns. Set expectations with them, but don't treat them as buffers or they'll burn out because of company inaction.

Give your community managers the tools to measure the micro stuff, down to the individual level

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jspad/450848498/

Give your community managers the tools to measure the micro stuff, down to the individual level. Top executives love to see macro figures and set new types of equations. Community managers need day-to-day operational data about the activity of individual customers. Who left a comment where? Who is friending others? Who's activity is going up or down? It's only by seeing this type of activity at the individual level that community managers can act to get in touch with these individuals, learn what's working and not recognize valuable community members. Macro figures won't give you that.

keep your community managers in the internal communications loop

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jakob/94582491/

Keep your community managers in the internal communications loop. It's important they know what's happening and what the organization's plans are, so they can make informed decisions as they interact with their respective communities.

Social Media Has Arrived... now go do it!

Alex de CarvalhoDirector, Scrapblog.com

twitter.com/alexdc

Good luck!