5 Essential Social Media Strategies for a Bad Economy

Here are some great strategies for social media in a down economy from the blog of Jason Falls. Nothing here will probably shock you, just good to keep them in mind.

The Explosion of Social Media Experts

Cool post from Jeremiah Owyang about the explosion of social media "gurus" as a result of the recession.

Social Media and B2B - GREAT STATS

It's getting increasingly more difficult for B2B brands to say they aren't interested in social media because their stakeholders don't read blogs, or use Twitter, or don't have Facebook accounts. Forrester released some great data on how buyers in the B2B space are using social technologies. This one is particularly noteworthy:

91% of these technology decision-makers were Spectators. This means you can count on the fact that your buyers are reading blogs, watching user generated video, and participating in other social media. Note that 69% of them said they were using this technology for business purposes.

Ghostwriting

there was a spirited debate on Twitter yesterday about whether or not blogs, or for that matter, other social media technologies should be ghostwritten. the cases on both sides are pretty strong, though put me in the camp that says ghostwriting is bad news.

http://bit.ly/MtNEx

Questions to ask our clients about social media

I suppose this is in the spirit of the trusted advisor conversations we've been having...Scott Hepburn, who works for the PR Store contributed this post on Amber Naslund's blog about how to turn the tables on your clients that are asking about social media. Some good questions here that we can probably use.

The Personal Brand

I thought this interview with Jeremiah Owyang at Forrester by Shel Israel was worth sharing with you. Shel is working on a new book about Twitter, and interviewed Jeremiah in preparation for the chapter on personal brand. If you aren't following Jeremiah, i'd highly recommend it. He's as savvy as Robert Scoble, and talks at a level that all of us can understand.

What Clients Want from Their PR Agencies Regarding Social Media

This is a really great article by Jennifer Leggio (based on survey data I might add) about what clients want from their agencies regarding social media. I think this reinforces the previous post from the analyst at Forrester, but few agencies are really walking the walk.

Agencies need to walk the walk

This is a great post from Jeremiah Owyang at Forrester. If agencies are going to be pitching social media/Web 2.0 to clients they better have experience using it themselves. I love this part of the post in particular:

"I asked the VP of Marketing, Paula Drum (a social media buyer and decision maker) of HR Block if she would hire an agency that wasn’t using the tools, and she said “no."

Six ways to make Web 2.0 work

An interesting report from McKinsey Quarterly about how companies can make Web 2.0 technologies work for them. Over the course of time they have interviewed about 50 "early adopters" of this technology and have distilled those thoughts into six key criterion for success.

Importance of Listening, Part 2

Continuing on the theme of the importance of listening...this time from Matt Dickman. This post outlines how to create and then execute a listening plan. He makes the case, as do many social media "experts," that listening before engaging is one of the most critical steps to success. The graphic associated with this post, while basic, is definitely instructive of how the social media process should evolve.

Is social media changing communications or not?

A fascinating debate is developing in social media: Social media is changing the foundations of public relations versus social media is just another vehicle to deliver a message (the fundamentals are still the same. You get two posts for the price of one today. The first is from Bill Sledzik from Kent who argues that much of what we see in social media is PR 101. The second is from Amber Naslund who argues that social media is indeed changing how PR is practiced. Where do you fall?

The power of listening

I'd highly recommend reading this post from Marcel Lebrun about the value of not only listening, but engaging in what he calls "conversational listening." As he notes, it is important for companies to listen to what is being said about their brands, but that isn't enough. They have to be willing to engage in the conversation. He outlines some great benefits to "engaging" customers/key stakeholders. We all know it's difficult to get our clients to take a step back and "know the landscape," but I think in social media it is EASILY the most critical step of the process. Without knowing, the client is likely going to try and "control" the message or take it in a direction that isn't of value to the folks they care about most. It isn't about issues control in social media, it's more about issues management, and knowing what your customers are saying makes it easier to manage those issues.

Are we expecting too much of people in social media?

The question is an interesting one to ponder, especially as the economy continues to go into the toilet. Should we be expecting people to engage us (our clients) in tasks like creating videos for a contest when they are worried about whether or not they will have a job tomorrow? something to chew on anyway...

Leveraging your Newsroom

These are some great thoughts on how companies can leverage their newsroom using social media tools.

Pew Internet and Twitter

Pew released a study yesterday that indicated about 11% of online adults have used Twitter, or a service like it. Personally, that number doesn't sound all that impressive, but when you consider the number of online adults it is much bigger. I would've preferred they use the raw number. But anyway, the study itself is interesting. Check it out when you have a chance.

Reporter has a meltdown on Twitter

Absolutely amazing that this reporter thought this was a smart decision. Whoops.

http://www.mediastyle.ca/2009/02/national-post-reporter-has-total-twitter-melt-down/

SM and B2B

My never ending quest for posts related to social media and B2B continues. This from Todd Defren at SHIFT Communications. Saying you know your customers well enough, or you have a very specialized product aren't the right questions/statements to make. The REAL question is are your clients/customers online. The answer is yes in almost every instance. If so, then social media should be a consideration.

How to Create a Successful SM Program

This is an interesting slideshare presentation on how to create a successful social media program from SocialMedia404. I like the O.A.S.I.S. approach they take.

Social Media is NOT for Everyone

Shannon Paul is in charge of new media for the Detroit Red Wings. Check out her blog...it makes a lot of sense. This post is particularly good. The harsh reality is that social media probably isn't for everybody and it definitely is NOT easy. The best brands using social media are those that "cultivate" their audiences. Think Marriot, Whole Foods, H&R Block, Wachovia, Ford, Dell, among many others.

Social Media Guide

I love the title of this..."Just An Online Minute... Your Guide To Not Being An Idiot." Evidently Fleishman held a social media panel yesterday with some interesting commentary.

Tools of the trade

This is sort of basic, but it's helpful to see people's perspectives on the tools of the social media trade. This is just one person's take on the tools necessary to begin engaging in social media. Many of these we already use, but it couldn't hurt to know more about each tool.

How to get started on Twitter

This is an essential read for all of you that are not on Twitter already.

Best Buy

Lots of great social media best practices coming from Best Buy. Here is just another example of that from the blog of Lee Odden

Social Media Guidelines

As I come across this i'll try and share as many as possible. More and more companies are developing social media guidelines, and I think Intel's is particularly good. From the first paragraph:

"These are the official guidelines for social media at Intel. If you're an Intel employee or contractor creating or contributing to blogs, wikis, social networks, virtual worlds, or any other kind of social media both on and off intel.com—these guidelines are for you. We expect all who participate in social media on behalf of Intel to be trained understand and follow these guidelines, failure to do so could put your future participation at risk. These guidelines will continually evolve as new technologies and social networking tools emerge—so check back once in awhile to make sure you're up to date. "

You say Twitter, I say Community

Wow. Ironically enough I came across this post through Twitter written by @thebrandbuilder. It really is one of the best explanations of Twitter and its value that I've ever come across. Check it out when you have a second.

b2b Companies using social media

I'm always on the lookout for interesting stuff about how b2b companies are utilizing social media. Here is an interview that Shel Israel, author of Naked Conversations, did with Aneta Hall, Pittney Bowes' emerging media manager. Check out her advice for b2b companies that are starting to become interested in social media. Very practical stuff and it almost makes social media less intimidating.

Twitter

Lots of good stuff written recently about how to "spread" your Twitter network. Better yet, how to make your posts go "viral." Mack Collier had a good post on his blog a couple of days ago about how to get your tweets retweeted. These are very common sense, but it is much harder if you don't work at developing your network of people you are interested in talking to.

Ford

The love festival, not to be confused with the Cleveland Twestival, with Ford's social media efforts continues. This is a site maintained by Scott Monty and housed on the Ford Web site that has social media press releases, photos, videos, and a PDF with communications guidelines. Amazing how far ahead of the game these guys really are.

Banks Using Social Media

Since we have some bank clients I thought this was worth passing along. Some thoughts on how banks can use social media from Jesse Torres, banker, author and social media expert

What's Old is New

If you follow some of the social media "heavyweights" on Twitter you might get the impression that they were the inventors of this thing called social media. While they absolutely helped create what social media is now, they definitely didn't invent it. Check out the most recent post from Shel Holtz making the point that many of the old school concepts are just being reinvented for social media and being called "new."

One Person's Social Media System

At the risk of this becoming the Amber Naslund "re-blog" service, check out the list of social media systems that she utilizes almost every day. She gives some ideas as well on how to use the tools. By the way, check out the amount of time she spends on Twitter. Sure, her profession is social media, but she's considered one of the better tweeps out there.

Interactions

The most obvious goal of social media is interactions. Chris Brogan gives some good tips on how you can encourage participation and interaction when using social media.