Whenever I used to meet with a potential new client that was interested in a social media program, I always used to take a piece of paper with a little drawing on it.
The surprise on their faces was always entertaining when they’d ask for my ideas for them, and instead of presenting a huge multi-slide PowerPoint, I’d show them this piece of paper and the four words on it.
The reason for keeping it simple was simplicity itself – if they couldn’t see the benefit of each point, they probably couldn’t see the benefit of social media.
I’ve since upgraded that piece of paper a little, but the message of the four points on it still works today.
Identify
There are so many different social media tools and applications that it can often be like trying to work your way around a maze. So many different turns to take, easy to get lost with all the options available – which is why it’s important to take the time to identify what will work for you. Decide what you want from social media and then use the appropriate tools.
Identity
Having an easily identifiable brand is key for anyone both online and off. Although this is usually applicable to business, personal branding offers an invaluable way of building a reputation as someone to go to for a certain niche. So your identity should be the same across whatever platforms you use – from bio, to profile, to picture, to logo – keeping the same identity across social media platforms will help people remember you more easily.
Invest
There’s an old saying that says, “You get out of it what you put into it.” While this can be used for most topics, it’s particularly true of social media. It’s not something you can dip into now and again – it changes too fast for that. Instead, to really see the fruits of your labour, you need to invest time into it.
A big part of social media is all about building relationships – and just like relationships in real life, the best ones take time to foster. Use this mindset with social media, place proper investment into it, and you’ll see the benefits fall into place.
Interact
It may seem an obvious thing to say, but there are only two words in social media and one of them is social. Yet still so many people – businesses, usually, more than individuals – are missing this key fact. Instead of simply broadcasting yourself, interact with the community and actively take part in social media.
Read and comment on blogs, both inside and outside your niche; converse on Twitter instead of just spamming your latest blog post or affiliate deal; share helpful news with people instead of keeping it to yourself for your own benefit.
Social media can often be a difficult thing to navigate, with different uses for different people. One thing it is to everyone, though, is a wonderful opportunity for all parts of you or your client’s business.
How are you helping others understand their opportunities?
photo credit: Eva the Weaver
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Twitter: davidspinks
Pretty solid simplification. Gets the basic idea across for the how and why. I’ll probably steal this to explain social media for business to others.
I like the application of the common “you get out what you put in” adage. If you’re really going to get something out of social media, you can either launch a viral campaign that turns out, isn’t very viral at all, or put in a lot of time and work to make it count.
Anyway…How about taking the I out of social media with my 4 I’s
Imitate: just copy the campaigns of others.
Interfere: If you see someone talking on twitter, stop them and tell them about your product.
Insult: Find your competitors, and take them down a notch via verbal abuse.
Ignore: If anyone questions your brand or your methods, they’re probably morons.
k i’m tired.
David, Scribnia
David Spinks´s most recent blog post …The Battle Between Our Hearts and Our Cameras
Hey there fella,
Where there’s a Yin, there’s always a Yang – your four examples sum up perfectly how the other end of the sphere looks.
Cheers, fella!
Twitter: micadam
Love this simple way of explaining social media… It’s as simple as “create, share and discuss content”
Twitter: JohnAguiar
Nice post.. for me Identity and Invest is most important.
To grow your Identity, you first need to Invest the time to build it.
People tip toe around social media, with a half ass effort then complain that SM doesn’t work or it’s a waste of time.
SM is like everything else, it takes work and work every day, if you except that and put in the work, SM can be a huge benefit to your business.
John Paul Aguiar´s most recent blog post …Four Things Dale Carnegie Can Teach You To Become A Top Affiliate
Like you say, John, investment is key. There’s the financial side, of course, but the time is where the real ROI comes back from. Put in ten times what you’re looking to get back, and the ratio will soon begin to change.
Love the I on the napkin idea, Danny. I may steal that
I have one more for you: What about “Imagine.” So often, I see organizations going through the motions when it comes to online interaction. Really creative online engagement and strategies really is no different from any other facet of PR or marketing–it involves imagination. Those who dream up new and different ways to use these tools to reach key audiences will be the winners–every time. Imagination is key.
@arikhanson
Arik Hanson´s most recent blog post …Five Good Minutes: A Conversation with Lisa Grimm
Great addition, Arik.
You don’t have to have the biggest budget if you have the brightest stars – and these are the guys that are lighting up the way for sure, mate.
Twitter: hightouchweb
Danny, This is a great reminder to us all. We have to remember the basics and try not to over think these Social Media venues. We also have to remember that we don’t have to be in all of them and the ones we are in we need to participate. I think that is the hardest thing for a client who is on a tight budget and tries to do the marketing themselves instead of hiring someone. They can’t fully participate the way they would want someone else in their company too.
I wince a little when I see a brand on a network that they obviously joined and then abandoned. I think that’s worse than not being on at all.
For the client on a budget, I always recommend looking at an intern – there’s some great value there for both sides (as long as the intern is used properly, and not just as a grunt). Can help in the short term, and who knows – if successful, may lead to a permanent gig for the intern?
Twitter: johnkreklow
Nice Post! The basic points that you made in your article are really at the core of social media. I run into people that think they just need to put up a Facebook page and they will instantly have 12k friends and double their sales overnight. It obviously doesn’t work like that. Good info! Thanks!
John Kreklow
http://www.under30ceo.com
Cheers John – hopefully stories like that will become the abnormal as opposed to the normal, as social becomes more accepted and better education falls into place.
Twitter: 40deuce
Great post Danny… as usual.
I love the idea of keeping it simple as the way to explain to clients a way to jump in.
My only problem is your “i’s” and not because they aren’t great or don’t make sense, because they do. I think that these four I’s are a perfect way to look at social media. My beef comes because I wrote a blog post a few weeks about about 3 I’s (http://bit.ly/cyOIBR ), and you just had to one up me =)
All joking aside I think your I’s are definitely great advice.
Cheers,
Sheldon, community manager for Sysomos
Haha, man, I am so sorry about that dude. Will pop over and check yours out soon, mate – cheers!
Twitter: askaaronlee
For me the most important will be “Interact” although the other “I”s come before this. Interact is the most important. I call mine
M-I-C
Monitor
Interact
Connect
Looks like you gave me more I’s now =D
Great blog post
If you want to get all cute animal on it, you could add Evolve and have MICE
Cheers, Aaron!
Twitter: danielhindin
Nice simple post for a nice simple idea, Danny. While all four of these are clearly important, the most obvious and overlooked is interact.
It never ceases to amaze me how often I check out a new Twitter follower’s 20 most recent tweets and find that none of them begin with an @ sign.
There’s not much worse than a company entering the social media space and continuing to use the same broadcasting methods they’ve always used. There’s also not much more valuable to a company than the ability to interact with its customers on a one-on-one basis.
Without interaction, social media is one giant missed opportunity.
Agreed, Daniel. I think there’s definitely room for this type of approach depending on the company (let’s say a stocks company, for example, that’s mainly highlighting any shares or trades), but overall that would be few and far between.
Use the opportunity to really get to know customers and clients, and those of your competitors, and you’ll stand a far better chance of sticking around for the long run.
Twitter: 3HatsComm
Danny, Good stuff. Like Arik and David, I may have to steal some
Once you’ve convinced clients to invest the time, to interact you’ve won part of the battle. But to win the war, they need a clear picture of why they’re doing thing (identifying goals and objectives, then focus on the tools that will get you there).
Most importantly IMO, how to communicate their identity. ITA that it needs to be consistent, personable and social. It also needs to be authentic, on message and yet.. real, human. Forget the website/brochure boilerplate, you need to be able to tell your story, something someone wants to read, hear and share. FWIW.
Davina K. Brewer´s most recent blog post …Twitter Taboos and the Real You: What don’t you Tweet?
It’s been interesting to see which companies do the human angle best, Davina, and which ones are continuing with the “We’re here and we’re the same as always” mentality.
The again, social success has seen those that are people first, business second come to the fore – so maybe something for others to take note from?
I live in a small(ish) community and follow your advice in my daily life. I cannot go in to a store or walk down the street without interaction of some sort or another. It sometimes feels like I know everyone in this area. I’m so used to being involved in the community in every way and through many different mediums that it never occured to me to replicate my natural way of communicating with social media. The end results will be the same, just the community will be different. Excellent post.
The folks that are naturally social offline have a definite advantage if they can bring that online, Kirsty. While businesses are trying to adapt, millions of voices are already exchanging viewpoints, so being able to jump in from the start and converse is a big advantage.
Twitter: markwschaefer
INFILTRATE. Go to your competitor’s Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. See all the potential customers they are following and who follow them. Connect with these customers, listen to their needs and respond better than your competitors. Steal their customers. Make millions. Retire. Remember that it was Mark W Schaefer who gave you this idea. Send him 10 percent of your profits. Repeat as needed.
Mark W Schaefer´s most recent blog post …Why it’s ridiculous to argue about ghost blogging
Mark, this is quite possibly one of the best comments on this blog ever (and there are thousands of great ones!).
Love the “attack at dawn” mentality – consider me an affiliate.
Twitter: askaaronlee
Wow! I like this idea LoL! Agree with Danny, probably the best!
I’m going to your linkedin account today Mark.
Cheers!
Aaron´s most recent blog post …How To: Find The Hottest Tweets on The Web
Twitter: danielhindin
That’s classic, Mark! I love it!
Twitter: EstrellaBella10
Sometimes the simplest explanations can be the most profound. I like the way you think.
Nikki Stephan´s most recent blog post …Guest Post by Tweetea Founder Hubert Sawyers III: It Is NOT a Race to the Finish
Twitter: kyleplacy
Some of my favorite parts “Have an easy identifiable brand on and offline” and “social media is social” These seem obvious but serve as a great reminder. Good Post! Thanks.
Cheers Kyle.
I think it can be easy to get swept up in the “social media will fix all” mindset. But let your offline persona go, and even the best online strategies might not be enough to pull you back.
Twitter: plrnetmarketing
I think people underestimate the power of Social Media, for me it drives the same amount of traffic to our site, as Google, yahoo, bing, combined! (Google if your reading this send more traffic so your not getting beat out)
But seriously, I see no reason to leave thousands of visitors sitting on the “virtual” table here.
Warren Wooden´s most recent blog post …PLR Articles – Private Label Rights Marketing
Social search is becoming increasingly important, Warren. As you say, ignore it at your peril – especially since Bing is putting more emphasis on social than Google. Just optimizing for Google is a flawed concept.
Twitter: CtKscribe
Cheers!
Christina Kingston´s most recent blog post …Is The Internet Saving Your Life
Twitter: jazzdolphin
Excellent article.. really enjoyed the simplification of the concepts of Twitter & social media & the approach.. especially the “social” comment/perspective about what social media is.. so many people really miss that part/concept.
Thanks,
Michelle.
Michelle´s most recent blog post …June 20- 2010- The Strombo Show Playlist – Top Front People Part 2 NOTE- No G12 Count Down again this week-
Agreed, Michelle. And seems kinda ironic when one half of the equation is made up by the word social to start with, huh?