Video Fridays #11 – Social Media Isn’t a Fad

Erik Qualman, Global Vice President of Online Marketing for EF Education, has written at great lengths and spoken to many groups about socialnomics. He is a leading international expert on social media.

Video Fridays #10 blog post showed a video highlighting some of his ideas. Now here’s a video of him discussing his ideas in person.

Do you feel that Social Media is a fad? Please let us know why or why not in the comments section.

Video Friday #9 – Social Media Addicts

For this video installment I would like to add a little levity to our blog. This is a funny video about social media addicts, i.e. people who can’t stop using social media. While addictions are a serious matter, this is a funny take on folks who think they have to use social media all of the time. We don’t. Use it a a tool, but don’t overuse it.

What if you couldn’t use social media?

Today, Twitter was shut down by a denial of service attack.  This got me thinking, what if you couldn’t use social media to talk to your constituents.  Do you have a back up plan in place?  Are you using more than one type of media?

Even if they couldn’t tweet their status, Twitter was able to post to their information to their blog and get information out through print and new media outlets.

How many of you are using more than one type of social media?  Please let us know in the comments section.

Beth Kanter’s Social Media Listening for Nonprofits

Without a doubt, one of my favorite social media and nonprofit writers is Beth Kanter. I’ve written about her work before.

This slideshare presentation is from her social media wiki and discusses the importance of knowing what people are saying about your agency on social media sites. Enjoy!

New Report on Social Media Engagement

The Altimeter Blog has announced that they are releasing a new study on how the major brands, as identified by the 2008 BusinessWeek/Interbrand Best Global Brands ranking, use social media to get their message out.

You can download the pdf of the report, but I encourage you to add your nonprofit’s social media information to their social media database.

Once you add your agency, put a comment in the comment box to let us know.

Video Fridays #2…Viral is an Outcome Not a Strategy

Here’s a video on Social Media Marketing for your second Video Friday installment. Leah Jones, from Edelman discusses social media marketing is easy to understand terms. It starts out why it’s okay not to blog and builds from there. I love techies who tell you it’s okay not to do something just because everyone is doing it. When watching this, make sure to think which social media tools are right for you…because not all are since we all have different needs.

Here’s the link to the video. Just note the video has a couple of ads embedded in it.

Video Fridays #1

I’m going to start a regular post every Friday that will have a video for you to build your social media knowledge.

Here’s a great video on Social Media in plain English from CommonCraft.

7 Things That Social Media Will Enhance

I usually paraphrase blog posts I like but this one speaks for itself. There are 7 things identified by Mediagiest that are benefits of social media.

1. Multi-tribalism- A person can now belong to more than one tribe. In fact, there is easily an online tribe for each of your interests. This takes the burden of having to be loyal to one group over another out. People in one community don’t necessarily have to know about your involvement in another and neither group has the right, or inclination to demand your fidelity.

2. Empowerment of niches communities and small businesses – It used to be that only in a city someone could find others with a shared interest in an area outside of popular culture. Today, these people can find each other and find encouragement to pursue their passion. Beyond this, they can also create communities and blogs that are monetizable and in many cases, a full time job. At present, many fashion trends and fads are born out of a cities culture do to the cosmopolitan mix inherent in a large population. In the very near future these trends will be born more and more on the web and outside of a specific geographic location. In addition, these small groups will be able to gain an increasing amount of social capital and influence if their activities become viral. This is good news for those of use who enjoy living in a world that is diverse and constantly exploring new worlds. If these small groups can consistently create value, entertainment or inspiration they can easily become agents of change worldwide.

3. Global peer to peer relationships – People can now connect from a variety of locations on a peer basis without the need for long formalities that can sometimes work as walls to keep people out rather than protected. Ideas can be shared freeley and more introverted and less aggressive people can find themselves on an even level with those who would otherwise dominate a conversation on their charisma or previous entitlements alone. People must also work harder to maintain their status since noteriety often lasts no more than a day and attention spans are brief.

4. Meritocracy – A person with a good idea or insight, in a social forum can easily gain more mindshare than someone who lists their titles, accomplishments or clients as a reason to pay attentinon to them. The internet may currently be awash in individuals trying to position themselves as experts but crowds will eventually drift toward those who provide value irregardless of social standing in the outside world.

5. Company to individual – Companies are now better able to get a more direct and authentic understanding of what customers are thinking and feeling. Not in the language of multiple choice surveys but in the a real spoken language. This kind of communication is marked by sincerity, depth and often with a wit that sheds real light onto what are customers true concerns are.

6. User community to company – A community does not have to be located all on one server or web site. A community can be defined as any group of individuals with a shared interest. These communities, the mix of individuals across microblogging, social networks orums and videos, are speaking to a given company. Whether that company chooses to listen and respond is their decision, but the trend is for them to be doing so. Those who ignore this valuable information will do so to the benefit of their competitors

7. Hysteria – This is unfortunate but true. Social media is a new power and it comes in two flavors. The speed and impact of a viral movement can spread product information and interest very quickly, but it can also spread panic and lies. As users of social media it is important to be aware of this and to recognize that it is us that are now the newsroom. If misinformation is being spread, we will increasingly have only ourselves to blame.

8. Consumer empowerment – Not sure if Burger King is still doing so but they used to run the slogan ‘Have it your way’. This meant that you could get a cheeseburger without pickles if you wanted it. This was a huge revolution in marketing but hardly in the actual content of the product. Today, just in time delivery and manufacturing is making that more and more possible. Customers are not only asked what they want, they are now able to design the product themselves, and even sell it for profit. At sites that let users design their own t-shirts, for example, a person can get immediate feedback on a shirt design and without commiting to a huge print run, determine whether the design will be a success. This is response direct from a customer and not something that has to factor in the bartering for retail space that the traditional methods would require.

9. Agility – Back in the day, the shoe cobbler, blacksmith and tailor would measure and make for your specific needs. Such customization is now accepted as a premium service but this is changing. Small online businesses, with a small but sustainable number of customers can meet more granular needs and product definitions. For larger companies, modular components based on social media feedback can make mass production feel more like customization. That is, companies can abstract out the parts that are most commonly needed and mass produce them. When an order arrives, assembly can occur per individual spec. Social web interactions make it possible to get a wider grasp on which components are in highest demand and in what quantity they can be produced. In the very near future there will be a lot of work for people who can read a community and convert it’s sentiment into product design.

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5 Questions before you start before building your social media

Paul Miller wrote a brief article on the “5 Questions to Ask Before Build Social Media Campaigns“. It’s worth a read.

His five questions are:

1. Who are you targeting?
2. How does your target audience use social media?
3. How should you come across?
4. What do you want to achieve?
5. Are you ready for a long engagement?

You have to read the story to see his answers. The article is from the website eMarketingandcommerce.com Please visit the site to see if more of their stories and information is useful to you in your endeavors.