A few weeks ago, I was asked to share some of my thoughts with iMedia Connection on common mistakes marketers make with Social Media and when it’s time for a Social Media Makeover.
Here is a re-post of that article and a few tell-tale signs your brand is missing a social media marketing opportunity.
The full article from iMedia Connection can be found here.
Article Highlights:
Brands often mistakenly plan social campaigns for the same window of time as they would an online advertising campaign
An intern should not be tasked with managing all of your social media efforts
Brands shouldn’t strip content off of blogs and communities just so they can promote it on their own websites
Common misconceptions and pitfalls
In the year of the social media revolution, we’ve seen many brands, organizations, and individuals jump in and make a concerted effort to expand their presences online and establish their social media footprints. Some of these brands have done a great job and really understand the importance of social media in getting people aware and engaged — while others are latching on to the newest trend and, perhaps, going through the motions to keep up with the Joneses.
Among the more than 3 million businesses creating Facebook pages and groups — not to mention millions of special-interest and community-driven blogs, up to 70 percent of which blog about brands — many have failed to connect the dots in terms of how to use these platforms effectively. Many brands fail to leverage social spaces to drive awareness and engagement among their customers and fans. They simply aren’t having conversations about their brands in the places their audiences share most.
For anyone who has ever wanted more information on Social Media and its impact on how we consume and share content, here are some favorite videos from Socialnomics that just might amaze you.
Social Media Revolution
Social Media ROI
Kudos to Socialnomics for gathering such comprehensive information!
The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently released the results of a survey of their subscribers’ use of social media in 2009.
They found that 88% of those responding were currently participating in some form of social media; more than half of those had been doing so for less than a year; most were participating via “general social networking” (e.g. Facebook) or blogs / microblogs (e.g. Wordpress, Blogger, Twitter.) The most popular tools used among respondents were Facebook (86%) Twitter (57%) YouTube (37%) and Blogs (48%).
All this use of new communication tools is great, but since so many organizations are new at this, they run the risk of doing a lot of communicating without saying anything. Every communication, even those limited to 140 characters, is an opportunity to tell your story. If you’re an organization doing great work, the stories you have to tell are probably some of your most valuable assets.
John P. Kotter, bestselling author, Harvard Business School professor and thought leader in the field of leadership and change wrote, “Those in leadership positions who fail to grasp or use the power of stories risk failure for their companies and for themselves.”
In the spirit of learning and collaboration (not picking on anyone), I have taken the liberty of writing alternate Tweets for a few organizations by way of example:
Pitching journalists and bloggers for placements in a social media world requires keeping up with the ever-changing rules of engagement.
I’ve collected nuggets of wisdom along my PR career and put together a set of tips and guidelines to help you avoid a deleted press release and score that coveted placement.
TWITTER/FACEBOOK
While I believe the ideal way to build a relationship with a journalist is through a meet and greet, it can be tough given busy schedules. Twitter and Facebook are great platforms to learn a writer’s beat, personality, channel/contact preference, subjects they’re interested in covering, and their deadline dates. Most of the journalists I’ve worked with prefer email pitches. I use Twitter and Facebook as a way to get to know a reporter so that when a client comes along that might be relevant to the journalist, I can help make a meaningful and authentic connection.
BLOGGERS
Pitching bloggers is different than pitching journalists. They aren’t paid to write about something specific at a certain time and aren’t under any obligation to cover your brand. They care more about what is of interest to their readers. Giveaways, contests, photos, and exclusive content all provide incentive for bloggers to feature your product or brand because it in turn engages their audience.
I was thinking today about how we used to communicate before computers and email and blogs and cell phones and text messages and social networks. In general, we had 3 big options:
Option 1: Walk up to a person and open our traps. That person would then open theirs and so on, and so on. Presto. An in-person conversation. If you were lucky, you would avoid an argument and end with a nice hand shake or a warm hug.
Option 2: Write a letter on a piece of paper – most appropriate when traveling or after receiving that “great” gift from Grandma (Dear Nana – Thank you so much for the peach polyester sweater with the pink elephants on it. I will wear it to high school every day. Love you!). You actually had to sit down, think about your thoughts and either write them exactly as they appeared in your head or utilize a pencil with an eraser to correct bad spelling and grammar on the fly. Address the envelope, stamp it, fold your letter, insert, seal and drop it in the mailbox.
Option 3: That involved the telephone – not the one that travels with us no matter where we go. This one might have had a rotary dial and could have been the Princess model, with hopefully a nice long twisted cord so you could stretch it across the room and behind the door to the basement in order to chat with the boy that drove you absolutely crazy at school. You couldn’t even leave a message on a machine – if no one answered, you tried again a little later hoping they would have arrived back home. But you would keep trying and eventually, you would have an actual conversation with the person you wanted to talk to.
Now, while all of these options are still available, we have become a very different society, where people can be reached pretty much any place they are and if they are not there, we can leave them a message to force them to get back to us ASAP.
KML had the chance to spend some time talking with Jonathan Waud, who recently appeared on Bravo’s Make Me a Supermodel Season 2. He not only won us over (we may be slightly biased)– he won over the fans by winning the vote for Favorite Model.
Since we love all things social media, we thought we’d take this opportunity to ask our favorite supermodel some questions about how he uses social media and the web to connect with his ever-growing fan base.
How active would you say you are online?
I love to be online but I’m always on the go so I don’t get as much surf time as I’d like. Thank goodness for mobile! When I am home, I do everything online– Facebook, banking, news, staying in touch with family. Everything.
What are your five favorite web sites you can’t live without?
A few weeks ago, I was asked to share some of my thoughts with iMedia Connection on common mistakes marketers make with Social Media and when it’s time for a Social Media Makeover.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently released the results of a survey of their subscribers’ use of social media in 2009.
Pitching journalists and bloggers for placements in a social media world requires keeping up with the ever-changing rules of engagement.
Option 1: Walk up to a person and open our traps. That person would then open theirs and so on, and so on. Presto. An in-person conversation. If you were lucky, you would avoid an argument and end with a nice hand shake or a warm hug.