I just finished watching a Web cast from The Emerging Media Research Council, the research arm of Three Ships Media, on how little-known Senator Scott Brown used social media to win. This is not the first time we have heard of politicians using social media to win in politics. President Obama raised 87% of his funds online. But this Web cast really went into detail and showed me that the rules have changed in the social media world. These are my notes from the Web cast.
Click image to view the Web cast.
As social media has come of age and communicating becomes the norm online, the rules have changed. Getting the most out of participating in social media to further your brand reach is possible if you can adapt to the new perceptions online and can keep these ideas in mind.
It is estimated that 90% of your Web site visitors already are familiar with or support your message. It is important to give these visitors avenues of communication so that they can share your message with others. Now, the idea behind social media is nothing new. It is the electronic embodiment of “word of mouth.” Ever since there has been Marketing, there has not been a stronger method of promotion than hearing from trusted first-person experience. What makes social media different is that now word of mouth is quantifiable. Now we can see what is working and what is not. We can put more energy into the areas where we are seeing return. Even if this means that you find most of your constituents are not responding to online promotion but are more offline, that is where you need to be.
Twitter is a big component of social media. Micro blogging, or 140-character sharing, used to be used as a window into the more personal life of the “tweeter.” In fact social media itself was first seen as a softer side of the cold business face of the corporation or institution. But now as Twitter has become more of a norm in social media, that has changed. We are now hearing that we must Tweet with Purpose. We want to be authentic, but not trivial. We don’t need to share that we had berries on our cereal this morning. When tweeting, ask yourself, “Does this help my constituent become better, smarter, wiser?” Substance trumps the mundane every time. This can be applied to all social media, as well.
Another tip that can be applied to all forms of social media is to watch the overall sentiment of the content. It has been noted that generally, having a positive tone to your posts is received better and shared more often than negative content. If the idea you are sharing is negative in nature, find a way to present it in a positive light.
Remember that social media is communication, a two-way street. When you talk, speak purposefully. When you listen, listen to serve. Social Media should not be used as a direct mail outlet. You will not get anywhere “bullhorning” your message down people’s throats. If you give people ideas, let it be informative and something they want to share with others. If you listen to comments or replies, do so with the care of Customer Service. The ability to quantify customer service ROI (return on investment) may be low, but it is hard to argue with the relationship between great customer service and strong brand loyalty.
Yes, there are risks involved in social media. The biggest risk talked about is losing control of the message. Companies and institutions are always talking about the fear of entering certain spheres and not being able to control how people are talking about them. May I suggest that control is already lost? Whether you enter the social media arena or not, people are out there talking about you and your message. It is in your best interest to enter the conversations already going on and represent the true voice of your group.
Speaking of spheres of conversations, there is a temptation to enter only into the spheres that we feel comfortable in or spheres where we feel we have control. To bring back the Obama example, his social media team entered into all spheres and were not afraid to speak in diverse arenas. Why were they not afraid? Because the had a precisely defined brand. Change and Hope and Yes We Can– these messages were so well defined, the Obama camp could enter any social media conversation without fear. Likewise, your brand, identity, and message should be so clear, that you too can take part in any conversation.
In closing, here are some best practices for participating in social media circles:
- Offer Value — Value can be tangible like promotional items, or intangible like listening and answering concerns personally.
- Use Promotions — Contests and Drawings are huge draws to social media participation.
- Involve Users — Calls to action or posted questions are great tools of interaction.
- Update Frequently — Even if it takes volunteers to update daily, updates should be happening more than once a week.
Do you have any other best practices for social media that have proven to work for you? Please share them in the comments.
The whole point of offering a template to our congregations and others who need a jumping off point to get their Web site started was to make it easy. WordPress 3 does just this. Our template, created for WordPress 2, is not able to take advantage of the new features.
This weekend, we took the leap. We heard the bloggers’ cries for a better platform and finally upgraded to WordPress. You, as a reader, will benefit as well, from a much more enjoyable and interactive blog to read.
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