What is Social Media and What Kind of Results Can You Expect From It?
Forget everything you've heard about social media for a minute.
Boiled down to its essence, social media is just another means to communicate, a powerful way-because like all real communication- it's a two-way street, an opportunity to engage and build relationships with people.
It's easy to get caught up in all the different channels and tactics: "Facebook, Linked-in, Twitter-Forums, Blogs, Podcasts, and Videos".
When ultimately-all that really matters the value that others place on your communications and the relationships that you are building.
Why is social media so difficult for most organizations? As Seth Godin says on his blog: "It's a process, not an event.
" Too many executives try Social Media and expect a quick return.
They're comparing Social Media to sending out an email blast, or dropping a bunch of sales letters or post cards to make the phones ring.
Sending out email blasts, dropping a bunch of sales letters or post cards...
those things are easy to manage, because they're events.
You shouldn't invest in social media for a quick return.
If you're going to invest in social media for your business, you should view it as a process to build relationships potential customers, and strengthen relationships with existing customers.
Acknowledging others is the greatest thing you can do If you are actively listening to someone, its customary to acknowledge or confirm what they're saying to show them you understand what they're saying.
It's not only polite, it's good business.
If you're blogging, you should be thinking more like a publisher than a sales or marketing executive.
Publishers are thinking about the issues and trends that matter most to their readers-and they develop editorial direction based on those issues and trends.
If you're social networking, you should actively engage others by acknowledging them-and show them you're listening by commenting on their blog posts (be sure to add value to the conversation), retweeting and replying to their tweets, "liking" and commenting on their Facebook entries.
Instead of a return, what you should aim for-and expect-is feedback.
Do people agree with you? Do they disagree? Do they have something to add? Do they "like" what you're saying? Do they ignore it? Or do they just "hide" you (Facebook).
Like any process-it's an opportunity to learn.
And based on what you learn-you'll find new opportunities to serve (and if you're really good, you might get some phone calls too).
Results.
Everyone's looking for them, and a savvy few get them.
Boiled down to its essence, social media is just another means to communicate, a powerful way-because like all real communication- it's a two-way street, an opportunity to engage and build relationships with people.
It's easy to get caught up in all the different channels and tactics: "Facebook, Linked-in, Twitter-Forums, Blogs, Podcasts, and Videos".
When ultimately-all that really matters the value that others place on your communications and the relationships that you are building.
Why is social media so difficult for most organizations? As Seth Godin says on his blog: "It's a process, not an event.
" Too many executives try Social Media and expect a quick return.
They're comparing Social Media to sending out an email blast, or dropping a bunch of sales letters or post cards to make the phones ring.
Sending out email blasts, dropping a bunch of sales letters or post cards...
those things are easy to manage, because they're events.
You shouldn't invest in social media for a quick return.
If you're going to invest in social media for your business, you should view it as a process to build relationships potential customers, and strengthen relationships with existing customers.
Acknowledging others is the greatest thing you can do If you are actively listening to someone, its customary to acknowledge or confirm what they're saying to show them you understand what they're saying.
It's not only polite, it's good business.
If you're blogging, you should be thinking more like a publisher than a sales or marketing executive.
Publishers are thinking about the issues and trends that matter most to their readers-and they develop editorial direction based on those issues and trends.
If you're social networking, you should actively engage others by acknowledging them-and show them you're listening by commenting on their blog posts (be sure to add value to the conversation), retweeting and replying to their tweets, "liking" and commenting on their Facebook entries.
Instead of a return, what you should aim for-and expect-is feedback.
Do people agree with you? Do they disagree? Do they have something to add? Do they "like" what you're saying? Do they ignore it? Or do they just "hide" you (Facebook).
Like any process-it's an opportunity to learn.
And based on what you learn-you'll find new opportunities to serve (and if you're really good, you might get some phone calls too).
Results.
Everyone's looking for them, and a savvy few get them.