Engaging Social Media: Getting Started Guide to Social Media Marketing

This is an except from a white paper i just posted at http://techrigy.com/pdf/EngagingSocialMediaWhiteP.pdf. Any feedback, criticism, thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Engaging Social Media:
Getting Started Guide to Social Media Marketing

Word of mouth (WOM) marketing is currently under going a renaissance. Of course, WOM is nothing new. We were using WOM long before we began studying marketing. There is no better recommendation on a brand than testimonial from a close friend. Yet to reach global audiences, marketing became, for a long time, about shouting a message as loud as possible. This worked for a while until we, the message target, had so any messages shouted at us we perfected the ability to tune out all of them. Social media presents itself as a way to reach people without shouting. Instead we attempt to engage in two way conversations with our customer. Social media allows the customer to tell us what they want instead of us telling them what we think they want.

Marketers that are able to use social media effectively will outpace their rivals. They will transform marketing into a giant sounding board that not only generates buzz, but also feeds into product development. Once your customers realize you will listen to them, they will be more than happy to share what’s good and bad about your brand giving you the opportunityy to improve.

Of course, WOM won’t work in a few situations. First, if the product you offer stinks, doesn’t work, or deserves no attention, WOM won’t work for you. In this case, you are better off figuring out how to fix what is broken. Second, if you aren’t willing to listen to the customer, if you think you know better than the customer, or are just too stubborn to change, WOM isn’t going to help you either. This guide will give you a base to start engaging social media so that you can make positive changes in your organization. It is broken down into two sections:

-The first section outlines steps for listening to your customers. Before you engage in any conversation, it is important you first listen to what’s being said. Imagine walking up to a group of people at a conference and immediately starting to talk loudly to the group. Wouldn’t work would it? The same applies to social media. No one will be receptive to you barging in and shouting your message to everyone. You must be engaged in the conversation before you can contribute. You should understand the context of the conversation before you engage.

- The second part of the guide is engagement. Of course, how you engage takes a lot of common sense. This is a guide, so we will give you some ideas and steps, but ultimately you will need to assess the situation and evaluate careful before engaging. Not every situation calls for the same response. Don’t take these guidelines as hard and fast rules. Instead, use it as a guide to getting started and help in steering you in the right direction.

(for more please check out http://techrigy.com/pdf/EngagingSocialMediaWhiteP.pdf)