Filed under: Notes From the Industry | Tags: Ashton Kutcher, Google, Michal Lorenc, Michigan State University, New Media Drivers License, social media, Tina Chen
A brief break from your regularly scheduled [music] program:
I recently finished a course at Michigan State University called New Media Drivers License. After fifteen weeks of going over the basics of social media for those out of the know (and those trying to fulfill graduation credits), our instructor, an Online Sales & Operations manager at Google, left us with something to consider.
“Everything you’ve learned in social media, you’ll have to relearn in the next six to 12 months.”
- Michal Lorenc
Obvious considering the speed in which it has evolved so far, but it made me wonder: What have I learned so far in social media?
There is no golden strategy.
I cannot tell you how many blogs and articles I have read in which “social media experts” try to come up with a 10-step surefire equation to success. Well, there is no strategy. Success comes from creativity and unique ideas, so do some brainstorming of your own. Break the rules. What is your objective? What is the character of your strategy? What creative execution will you use?
Imitation is a launch pad at best.
Just because someone is famous on the ‘net does not mean you should do what they do. There may be a few key points to take away from their strategy (interaction, consistency, format), but what they are doing has been done – no one wants to follow the same person twice.
Example: Tina Chen (famous, but not a good idea to mimic)
Consistency is not negotiable.
When you create a vanity name, stick with it. Search engine optimization is very important if you want people to find you across different avenues. That means youtube.com/yourvanityname, twitter.com/yourvanityname, facebook.com/yourvanityname. Make sure your efforts can be found as easily as possible!
No personality? No risk? No one cares.
Seriously. It’s better to make a couple people angry expressing your sincere opinion than being one of the millions of “always happy, always working, no poor opinion of anything” droids crawling all over the web. You are human, your followers are human. Humans enjoy being entertained with colorful thoughts. Just try to stay within legal and job-safety guidelines.
You can’t make everyone happy.
So post things that make you happy. Unless you are a social media strategist (for a living), these are things you will be doing in your spare time, so make it fun. Seek out other bloggers that share your same passion. To make sure your content is entertaining, consider the sites you like to read when doing your own writing.
Maintain two-way conversations.
When writing for yourself, don’t forget to read and comment on others’ sources! It’s easy to get caught up in your own world, but connecting with other people will encourage traffic to your sites and make social media more enjoyable.
Don’t forget about your off-line life.
Being interesting in real life in turn makes your online persona attractive. If all you do is regurgitate articles you find online, you aren’t really contributing, are you? Go to an event, interview someone, take some photos. Remember the saying “If you’re bored, it’s because you’re boring”? It’s true – so make sure you’re taking steps to stir things up.
In the end, the determiner to SM victory depends on your social media goal. Very few people will ever be Ashton-Kutcher-successful, but that doesn’t mean that your own media niche isn’t awaiting your next brainstorm sesh.
You’re on the internet, you have experiences, what have you learned about social media?
Filed under: Notes From the Industry | Tags: consumers, Facebook, Michigan State University, MSU, New Media Drivers License, return on investment, ROI, search engine marketing, SEM, SM, social media, Twitter
It’s 2010 and everybody is hopping fences to get on the social media bandwagon. However, if you’re on this ride, you may have noticed that not everyone is exactly well-versed in the process. This is why I will be taking a brief break from your regularly scheduled program to touch on the subject. (For those of you who want to hear about music: Yes, I’m still listening to the new Alkaline Trio album like it’s my job.)
To help the SM beginner, I have highlighted the nine essential steps to social media marketing success:
1. Identify measurable goals.
For a company to participate in the online world, an offline, real-life person needs to maintain the account. This person also must be compensated. So, what is the point of putting forth the effort if there is no return? There is no point. Before diving into a project of any kind, attainable, measurable goals need to be laid out. With an eye on the prize, it is more likely to achieve it.
2. Determine a social media vanity name.
Consistency is the key to brand identity, marketing campaigns and Google searching. Without a key word, SEM marketing is not possible, and it will further prevent potential consumers from seeking out your company.
3. Research mediums your target audience frequents.
For Facebook, the fastest growing demographic is women over 55. On Twitter, young adults between the ages of 18 and 34 dominant the scene. Without proper research on the niche you are trying to reach in correlation with the medium, company dollars are wasted.
4. Create aesthetically pleasing layouts on social sites.
While content is important, no one will take the time to read it if your site looks: A) fraudulent B) unorganized or C) like a 5-year old made it. Make sure your hard work does not go unread.
5. Build an online network.
Take time to seek out followers who might benefit from your product or service. Site searches and recommendations are a great way to get the attention of potential consumers. Remember, if you can’t help them in any way, then you are essentially spamming them.
6. Generate informative, entertaining content.
While the obvious objective is to spread the word of your business, only talking about it can and will turn people away from your social site. Humor, horizontal business promotion or even slightly off-hand topics can keep the reader interested.
7. Involve your readers.
Contests, coupons and suggestion requests will keep the retweets and wall postings coming. People enjoy being involved in any business they throw money to. Not only does it encourage involvement but it ultimately increases brand loyalty.
8. Update mediums often.
Put simply: nobody regularly visits a website that is never updated. Do yourself a favor and give browsers a reason to increase your site’s traffic.
9. Regularly measure ROI in terms of your initial goals.
Make sure all of the effort you have put into your SM project has paid off. If it isn’t, modify accordingly.
Still feel lost in the tangled web of Google-buzzing, tweeting and linking? To get a more hands-on experience with improving your online presence, consider taking the New Media Drivers License course at Michigan State University. For more information, visit www.newmediadl.com or jump start your skills by following the course on Twitter.
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