by Jon Wuebben
Social Media. Heard of it? Unless you have been sent in a rocket ship to space for the past couple years, you probably not only know about it – but are digging into it and may be a very active participant. It has been the biggest thing to hit the business world since the Internet itself…plain and simple. Whether you are a business with a fan page on Facebook, a Twitter page and a You Tube channel, or a just a regular guy or gal who is re-connecting with old friends through social media, it has affected practically ALL of us.
So, what is Social Media? Wikipedia says this…
“Social Media is media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media uses Internet and web-based technologies to transform broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogs (many to many). It supports the democratization of knowledge and information, transforming people from content consumers into content producers.”
Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as “a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content”
And what are we talking about when we say social media content? When you write for social media it could take the form of blog posts, “tweets” on Twitter, videos that you share on Facebook or YouTube and sites that you stumble on social bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon.
But knowing how to write and publish content for a social media world can be a challenge – and very time consuming. How do you do it and why is it important? We’ll get to that very soon…
Social Media is expanding like crazy…
It seems like with every blog I frequent, the topics covered have morphed into a social media cornucopia of delights. The topic used to just be “social media” …now it’s subdivided and multiplied into a number of sub-topics within the larger umbrella. From video marketing and distribution to Social media tools; social media training and advertising to integrating social media and traditional media, the list is endless. And despite all of this activity and buzz, there are many thousands of companies out there – large and small that are still resisting – or confused about it.
Why? Because resisting an idea is human nature 101. Even for some of those who like to be out in front. And I surmise it’s more of an issue in America, where it seems we are always wondering, regardless of what it is — How can I turn this great idea into cash? Oh yeah, that ROI thing. Maybe social media will finally help place “building a community” and “establishing a brand” above ROI once and for all. (Where they should be) Whether we are talking about Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, your blog – it’s all the same. Embrace them now and they will love you back.
In this 4 part blog series, Social Media Content 101, we’ll focus on 3 major areas:
- How you can benefit from social media content
- Types of social media content
- How you can get it all done
By going through these three areas and understanding how the information can apply to your business, you can make the very most of social media and stay out in front of your competitors. In terms of getting your feet wet, you may want to contribute first by joining existing discussions on other content. See what they are talking about and what types of content are the most popular.
So, let’s get right into it:
HOW YOU CAN BENEFIT FROM SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT
How exactly do you benefit through social media content? With Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, your blog and all the rest, you can:
- Build new relationships
- Provide thought leadership
- Respond to customers
- Improve search engine rankings
- Use in conjunction with media exposure
- Utilize as a platform for promotions and contests
- Ultimately, improve sales
But let’s be fair, it isn’t just the ROI issue which stops companies from jumping in with social media. In fact, there are a number of other issues that various surveys cite including lack of knowledge, lack of executive resistance, etc.
The bottom line: Social Media is about influence, connection and brand. When considering this, it’s important to ask a few key questions: Who is your audience? Who will you connect with? What’s your strategy? These are all things that you want to think about and plan for. If you haven’t done it yet, get yourself a calendar and start mapping out what you want to do.
The great thing about social media is that we are able to do things that we’ve never done before, more efficiently, at a higher level. Through these platforms we can facilitate new relationships, new conversations, positive influence and close customer interaction…all at a faster rate than ever before.
If you’re old enough to remember what life was like before the Internet, all this stuff used to happen at conferences, the workplace or through a social service group or association. My, how times have changed. And for the better! Social media is taking us to exciting places!
…Look for Part 2 on Monday, March 29th
