There is only one way to learn about social media
The Internet has forever changed the face of PR and marketing. Today the importance of Websites, blogs, bulletin boards (forums) and e-newsletters are well understood. However, when it comes to social media, things get a little sticky. Plenty of savvy marketers have found ways to effectively leverage virtual communities such as Second Life, Facebook, MySpace, FriendFeed and Twitter for the purposes of building brands or influencing opinions. But for many, social media marketing is still confusing and its value questionable.
For me, Twitter was the most difficult to grasp. I knew several members of the media used it, as did most of the PR 2.0 thought leaders. But the first few times I visited the site, I could see very little value. All I saw were messages about what people are having for lunch, what they did at the gym or reports about their personal bathroom habits. The only conclusion I could draw from my initial experiences with it was that Twitter was absurd.
Just to be safe, I discussed my experience with several colleagues to see if they had any additional thoughts or insight. Ultimately, we concluded that twitter was something worth monitoring, but it wasn’t very valuable as a public relations tool. We were dead wrong.
A few months later I read about some of the various third-party Twitter tools designed to help users manage the flow of information and filter out the garbage. A few hours after that, once I installed a few of those tools, I fully understood the value and kicked myself for not figuring it out sooner. Today I use Twitter on behalf of clients, to promote my business, to promote my blog, to follow competitors, to keep up on trends and to monitor breaking news. I’m still not a Twitter junkie, but I now understand why some people are.
At the end of the day, the only way to truly understand a social media site is to become an ACTIVE member of the community rather than just a tourist or guest. Taking the time to truly get to know why a particular social networking community finds the site valuable is a worthwhile exercise. From a marketing standpoint, it is also absolutely necessity. The reason communities like these are so effective at influencing opinion is that people tend to trust information from people they know (even if they don’t know them in person). If you are seen as a legitimate member of the community – even if you are there openly representing a particular company – you will still be seen as trustworthy to some extent. If you are an obvious outsider there only to promote a single agenda, you will have no credibility and you are likely to be run out of town on a virtual rail (along with your client’s reputation).
Yes, it takes a lot of time and effort to establish yourself, but in the end, it is worth it.
Hi Dean,
I’ve been monitoring the peanut butter recall on Twitter, and predicted two days ago – based on what I was seeing there – that dog treats would be next. And I woke up this morning to the news that PetSmart had recalled some of theirs as a result.
I still swear by Twitter, and am glad to see you’re finding it useful as a PR tool!
Right on Dean.
Trust from online would-be consumer, is more trustworthy than the shiny salespeople/ad — why, would-be consumer is not gaining from their testimony.
We’re all becoming social media junkies (even LT Public Relations) and it has quickly become one of the most powerful uses of communicating–there’s no denying that . . . it may soon surpass the telephone.
People twitter, and there is no end in sight. . . but it’s saturating the Internet and is an obstacle to truly identifying what is genuinely credible.
Do we trust our friends recommendations/twitters? Maybe. Do we trust a non-stop tweeter that won’t, um, shut up about this or that? That’s the issue . . . twittering is saturating the Internet.
Nonetheless, it is an official “effective” tool . . . only if it comes from the right source.
How much time each day to you spend twittering to be effective? It almost seems to me that for this to work you need to make it a full time job. Is this true?
I think your original gut analysis was correct. Twitter is narcissistic, pointless, and dumb. It doesn’t matter to me how many people use it. Millions use broadband multiplayer online games, and I find them insufferably dumb too. Sometimes, being an elitist is a good thing, it saves you from wasting time on mindless activity.
Perhaps — and I do find I have to turn off all Twitter monitoring to focus on projects. Still, I see value. I saw a measurable spike in blog and Website traffic when I started up on Twitter. I’m with you when it comes to the online games or virtual worlds. I want no part of marketing withing Second Life.
Glad to see you commenting on here by the way.
Thx.
Like everything else, you need to find a balance, but I don’t think you have to tweet every day to be effective. You should have tools and methods set up so that when people are discussing a particular issue or company or product that you are able to find out about it and participate in a timely fashion if appropriate.
I have found that keeping your twitter tools running in the background can be useful, but it can also be so distracting it becomes hard to get other work done. It is OK to turn them off from time to time.
You get some of the credit for that.
Dean, I have to agree with you that social media is a marketing platform that cannot be ignored. I certainly don’t think that sites such as Twitter should be dismissed as ‘pointless’ or ‘dumb’- it seems short sighted to cut off such a vast base of potential customers. I also agree with your point that Twitter and other such sites are most effectively used if you take the time and effort to become an active member of the community. I think the key here is the ability to engage with your market; communication should be mutual. If a dialogue is achieved, it’s much easier to connect with your market, respond to demand and establish a loyal client base. Admittedly, this takes a bit more effort than using the sites solely to transmit advertisements, but more often than not your efforts will be rewarded. Good luck and thanks for posting!