Do You Really Need to Pay Attention to Social Media?

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	NEW MEDIA EDGE

	October 15, 2008

Do You Really Need to Pay Attention to Social Media?
By: Rich Brooks

Lately, in conversations with clients, at networking events, and even over beers with friends the conversation of social media keeps popping up.

Probably because I keep bringing it up.

I talk about Twitter, or Facebook, or YouTube and eyes roll so fast I’m afraid someone’s going to pull a muscle. Then I start telling stories.

About the small job we got through a woman who knew me only through Twitter, and how she’s now talking to us about a bigger search engine optimization project.

About the camp buddy who found me on Facebook, then hired flyte for a custom programming job.

About the neighbor who saw a video on email marketing I created and uploaded to YouTube. He then forwarded it over to his company and is now looking to bring us in.

The list goes on. This is about the time when the eyes stop rolling and start going wide.

Social media is not a get-rich quick scheme. I had about 800 tweets under my belt before someone approached me about a job. The camp buddy who found me on Facebook was just that; a camp buddy. Although the YouTube video was only five minutes long, it represented about seven years of email marketing experience.

You need to understand and respect the social norms. People aren’t jumping into Facebook or Twitter to learn more about your widgets. Trying to make the quick sell in social media is like being the guy at the cocktail party trying to push life insurance on everyone. You don’t want to be “that guy.”

It’s probably not feasible to ask, “how do I behave here?” as you try a new social networking application, so it makes sense to listen first and engage slowly.

The norms of social media will undoubtedly evolve over time, but it will continue to be good advice to get a lay of the land before opening your mouth and jumping in with both feet.

Social media can benefit any business. I’ve heard that “decision makers aren’t on Twitter.” I disagree, but even if that were true, there are other social media sites that decision makers do use, the most popular of which is probably LinkedIn.

But even if deal making is off the table, businesses can use social media to engage their next generation of employees: college students. Showing that you utilize and engage social media can make your business more attractive to prospective employees.

You can also use social media for customer support. Since social media users often complain loudly and publically when your product or service fails to live up to expectations, it’s a good idea to have an employee actively monitoring those online conversations. They can then engage these customers and solve problems. Stories of these good deeds travel fast through Twitter and the blogosphere.

And, for customers that already love you, social media is a great way to engage them and build stronger loyalty.

Social media can benefit anybody. People who are already engaged in social media have a leg up in interviews with forward thinking companies. If you can show a prospective employer that you understand social media you have a competitive advantage over other prospects. If you have a large following of the employer’s target audience in an application like Twitter or Pownce, your hand is even stronger.

While the individual applications of social media may wax and wane in popularity, the idea of social media isn’t going away, it’s only becoming more mainstream. When you stop seeing social media as a teenage fad and realize that it’s just another method of communication, you’ll be able to realize the benefits that it can bring.

Want to discuss this further? Why not tweet me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or pose a question on LinkedIn?

Comments

Add Your Comments

K. Oliver-Kreft (Gahanna, OH)	on 22 Oct 2008 at 3:48 pm

The problem with social media marketing is that you really do need to pay time and attention to it for it to work. You actually have to update your profile. You have to be social online to make contacts. It's not a do-it-once-and-let-it-run thing. For most companies, it's not an investment they're willing to make. For those who do, they see results. In this, it's pretty much the same as any other marketing effort. When you make the effort, you see results. If you give it lip service, it's a waste of money.

Sam Zell (Chicago, IL)	on 21 Oct 2008 at 6:53 pm

This is f*ing bull**.

Anna (Chicago, IL)	on 21 Oct 2008 at 11:21 am

Couldn't agree more! Why oh why does all this still need to be said? Why are people so slow to come around? Why do people not take bloggers and social networks seriously? Why do most companies not view the social networks and the blogosphere as a valid area to recruit employees? I've been contacted by only one company thus far on Twitter and they weren't in Chicago. Granted, I'm only 388 posts in, but it still seems like a low number. On LinkedIn? Zero. On Facebook? Zero. At least now people in creative recruitment agencies are coming around to the idea that knowledge and active use of social networks and blogging is a valid skill that can translate to the workplace. But we're still in the VERY early stages.

Buffalo T-shirts (Buffalo, New York)	on 21 Oct 2008 at 11:04 am

I find twitter to be a great resource for new technology and for progressive companies. I created my account initially to help with SEO and drive some traffic to my website (and it works!), but now I find Im using it more for my primary business as a graphic designer. Because of this Im adding another account to reflect that side of my networking needs. All from a guy that 6 months ago didn't know my facebook from my macbook.

tctaylor1031 (Acton Massachusetts)	on 21 Oct 2008 at 10:35 am

It gets even better! I had the luck to work with start ups and new media folks in NYC, Boston recently. The sheer energy is fantastic to see and feel! It was one of the great experiences of my life. Go to meetup.com and see what get-togethers there are in your area, for example. You will probably find Web 2.0, Start Ups, New Media, Social Networking, etc gatherings nearby if you're near a Tier 1 or Tier 2 city. Then, Engage. You will enter the amazing world of mash ups, mush ups, txt mobs, subcultures, and bleeding edge techies. You'll find people like the 20-something, freelance model who wrote (at the Apple store in Manhattan, while standing-up in high-heels) and self-published (via Amazon) her autobiography -- all without owning a computer! Or, Marc Cendella, founder of The Ladders, Dina Kaplan of blip.tv, John Havens of blogtalkradio.com, Dr. Yao-Hui Huang, founder of The Hatchery gauntlet (where would-be entrepreneurs get five minutes to pitch their company/idea to potential investors and peers) and scores of others enjoying and creating the new world of biz. Welcome to the new world, please take and give a number!

Sharina (Atlanta)	on 21 Oct 2008 at 10:27 am

I wholeheartedly agree with utilizing social media for loyalty. I recently attended a social media panel via AMA and the advice panelist gave was to use to social media to identify the influencers create brand advocates, and to use social media as a focus group. I think when marketers only use it to as a means to advertise or just to jump on the bandwagon without a clear strategy are the ones that don't get any ROI from it.

Jac Madsen (SF bay area)	on 16 Oct 2008 at 2:37 pm

Loved the article. In fact I went so far as to follow you on twitter, and found that I already have been for some time.

Alma Gray (Ohio)	on 15 Oct 2008 at 2:16 pm

I love twitter (www.twitter.com/avegagray)...found you guys on there as well ;0) I also am on linkedin, biznik, and a handful of other social sites. Once you get over how alien it all seems initially and start becoming a part of the conversation it becomes almost intuitive. It is the sense of novelty that staid marketers need to overcome to see it as a valuable business tool. Just as in real world person to person interactions, you must apply care in how you communicate. Be real, transparent, honest and provide relevant valuable information in your conversations and the rest should fall into place.

About the Author
Rich Brooks

Rich Brooks is president of flyte new media a Web design and Internet marketing company. Flyte designs professional Web sites and promotes them with strategic Web marketing campaigns that include search engine optimization, email marketing, business blogs and more.

He blogs on Web marketing topics regularly at flyte blog: web marketing strategies for small business and publishes a monthly email newsletter called flyte log. http://www.flyte.biz