How many of these Social Media acronyms and word-mushes can you get? SM, IM, DM, FB, Peeps, Tweeps, RT, CGM, SMO1
It’s both scary and exciting to think how short a time Social Media has been around and how massive its impact is having on our lives and businesses.
To put the Social Media (SM) scene in perspective, let’s look at a few stats. There are over 300-million active Facebook users, well over 80-million Twitter accounts, and as at July last year, LinkedIn was valued at around $1b USD.
From a marketing perspective, Social Media is blowing traditional media out of the virtual water. There are lots of opportunities and a few pitfalls as well.
So what are we to do with all this new interactivity and global connectedness? And how can we use it to build our business? These are fairly big questions, so let’s start with how Social Media actually works ...
Living in a small town like Blenheim, you can physically walk through town and bump into half a dozen people you know. You can go to a function, and know more than half the people in the room. If you need a service, you just ask someone you know, and get a recommendation.
SM is sort of the online equivalent, but it’s a very big global ‘small town’. SM provides a (free) platform and an environment to interact with people anywhere in the world, anytime.
The smart 'peeps' are incorporating SM into their business, as a communication - and dare I say marketing tool (a dirty word in the new friend-based world). For example you can ‘tweet’ a link to a YouTube video promoting something new, which in turn drives traffic to your website. If the video is really cool it can ‘go viral’, meaning thousands or even millions of other people will tell all their friends and followers to go check it out. And in the process, not a dollar was spent on press, radio, TV or magazines.
There are people all over the world interested in what you do, so the SM space simple enables you to engage with those people. The interaction may result in business, or it may just teach you something interesting. Either way, it’s a win.
Facebook is so popular because it brings people together, and we are all naturally wired to connect with other people. My own Facebook page has friends I would probably not otherwise communicate with. But I chat with, ‘like’, and comment on their posts all the time. So there's a whole network I'm more connected with than I was before.
Twitter is a different environment again. If Facebook is like a cafe, then Twitter is a crowded, chaotic carnival. It’s noisy and crazy. Some people are standing in the middle of it all yelling about themselves, while others are in quiet areas having private conversations.
Then there's Digg, Linked In, Delicious, MySpace and many others, not to mention YouTube, Flikr and many million blog sites.
So back to the question how do I make SM work for my business?
Ironically, the same way as traditional media – have a strategy, know what your gunning for, trial and refine tactics, commit time to making it work, and don’t write it off too quickly.
1. Answers: Social Media, Instant Message, Direct Message, Facebook, Online People, Twitter People, Retweet, Consumer Generated Media, Social Media Optimisation.
Posts
