The Best Way to Get Involved in Social Media



jacobmThis is a guest post from social media consultant Jacob Morgan.

The best way to get involved in social media can be summed up in one word – act. Spending 6 months researching and planning your social media campaign is not the best thing to do. Now I’m not saying don’t have a plan – I’m saying have a plan that you can put together and act on quickly and effectively and make it actionable sooner rather than later.

It’s always a good idea to start listening and getting a feel for your landscape and surroundings, I consider this a part of acting as it involves engaging in the social media space. Every day you spend “planning” is a day where you are potentially missing hundreds or thousands of conversations/relationships that you could be engaging in.

You have to remember that social media is very dynamic.

  • New tools emerge daily
  • Your competition isn’t going to sit still
  • Brand/company sentiments can change rapidly
  • You are going to miss out on the conversations that are going on now if you wait
  • Part of succeeding in social media is about trying new things, it won’t be “perfect”
  • There is no formula for success

Your plan is most likely going to change once you actually engage in social media and begin interacting with your users and customers. In fact, your users and customers SHOULD dictate some of your plan; they will tell you what they want, how to build it, who they want to talk to, and what they expect (among other things).

The best thing to do is start small (even while you are still formulating and constructing your plan) because at least you can begin engaging in conversations and building relationships. For example, you may want to create a Twitter account for a customer service representative that can monitor conversations and engage in them. Maybe you want to create a customer facing blog that the company can use to provide some unique company or industry information.

While these conversations and relationships are building you can think of larger more strategic ways to engage with your users, i.e. building microsites, creating your own social network, promoting products/services via social media channels, etc.

Creating a plan is good – acting is better.

  • Jacob Morgan is a social media marketing consultant and runs a team of Technical SEO’s. Jacob has founded a start-up in the social media space and has worked with brands such as Adobe, Conde Nast, Sandisk and Salesforce. He is an avid and passionate blogger on all things social media and marketing related. He also loves meeting and building relationships with people so say hello and let him know if he can help you! You can connect with Jacob on:
    Twitter
    Facebook
    LinkedIn

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Hello webmaster
I would like to share with you a link to your site
write me here preonrelt@mail.ru

From a personal perspective, social media on the whole is a personal leverage tool for me, at this moment.

I am on the brink of some client advice on the subject, but to date I've used social media as a listening tool, something I think it is ideally suited to.

The content is so fast flowing that a "browse look" for trend pickups, interesting/relevant conversations, tagging along where you have something to offer.

But a lot of time listening with your eyes to subject matters developing.

It's already helping me develop a network contacts that are vital in a connected world where their influence can affect something you are trying to promote.

But as I mentioned on a comment on SocialMediaExplorer, building this network has to be done with respect, not shouting, but nurturing.

Act, but not to brashly, slowly integrate with other social elements, create an identity and then keep working at it. Creating further synaptic connections in the vast social neural network.

The plan develops as your network increases and you realise the potential of pursuing certain avenues.

Thanks for the post.

Ed Richardson´s last blog post..More web apps from little people

hey adam,

thanks a lot man, much appreciated. i've connected with danny through social media and he's smart fellow which is why I agreed to write a post here. acting is crucial, setting up a strategy plan is also important but you have to create a plan that lets you act.

the relationships i have made through social media are priceless because they help grown and learn, there is no roi on that.

thanks for the comment!

jacob morgan´s last blog post..Facebook Fan Pages, I’m a Fan, Now What?

Hey Jacob,

I have been reading your blog and Danny's for a while now. I just have to say, it's awesome to see you writing here too.

I have thought a lot recently about my personal social media campaign. I've always been the sink or swim type and just jumped in with two feet. At first I thought I had the hang of it.

Great post but then again I didn't expect anything less from you.
I follow the same principles and think that acting and doing is a lot better than resting on your laurels. It's hard work writing and keeping up with twitter and providing value to the community. The dividends are only measured by the personal enjoyment we get when we connect with people who are bright minds and have great information.

Adam Gainer´s last blog post..Blaze Your Own Trail

Danny,

Great post - I literally just wrote a bunch of articles on Social Media and how it's more useful to overcome banner blindness and other traditional marketing drawbacks.

I am planning on posting some articles on the 'darker side' of Social Media too - whereby people might be almost too trusting of the advice of others in their networks to make buying decisions.

I think your post hits on the head in that the best way to approach Social Media is to get actively involved with your customers in one way or another.

Keep up the informative posts and thanks!

- Gene

Hello webmaster
I would like to share with you a link to your site
write me here preonrelt@mail.ru

From a personal perspective, social media on the whole is a personal leverage tool for me, at this moment.

I am on the brink of some client advice on the subject, but to date I've used social media as a listening tool, something I think it is ideally suited to.

The content is so fast flowing that a "browse look" for trend pickups, interesting/relevant conversations, tagging along where you have something to offer.

But a lot of time listening with your eyes to subject matters developing.

It's already helping me develop a network contacts that are vital in a connected world where their influence can affect something you are trying to promote.

But as I mentioned on a comment on SocialMediaExplorer, building this network has to be done with respect, not shouting, but nurturing.

Act, but not to brashly, slowly integrate with other social elements, create an identity and then keep working at it. Creating further synaptic connections in the vast social neural network.

The plan develops as your network increases and you realise the potential of pursuing certain avenues.

Thanks for the post.

Ed Richardsonu00c2u00b4s last blog post..More web apps from little people

hey adam,

thanks a lot man, much appreciated. i've connected with danny through social media and he's smart fellow which is why I agreed to write a post here. acting is crucial, setting up a strategy plan is also important but you have to create a plan that lets you act.

the relationships i have made through social media are priceless because they help grown and learn, there is no roi on that.

thanks for the comment!

jacob morganu00c2u00b4s last blog post..Facebook Fan Pages, Iu00e2u0080u0099m a Fan, Now What?

Hey Jacob,

I have been reading your blog and Danny's for a while now. I just have to say, it's awesome to see you writing here too.

I have thought a lot recently about my personal social media campaign. I've always been the sink or swim type and just jumped in with two feet. At first I thought I had the hang of it.

Great post but then again I didn't expect anything less from you.
I follow the same principles and think that acting and doing is a lot better than resting on your laurels. It's hard work writing and keeping up with twitter and providing value to the community. The dividends are only measured by the personal enjoyment we get when we connect with people who are bright minds and have great information.

Adam Gaineru00c2u00b4s last blog post..Blaze Your Own Trail

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  2. [...] and has worked with brands such as Adobe, Conde Nast, Sandisk and Salesforce. He has also been a guest author on this blog. My sincere thanks to Jacob for taking the time to reply and share his views. To connect with [...]