February 8, 2012

Social Media: The Future of Marketing?

Lately, social media seems to be the constant topic of discussion in magazines, newspapers and blogs – from Facebook’s IPO to cyber-bullying to pop-sensations who got their big start on YouTube. I came across this picture and realized the extensiveness of social media: it is no longer just for our younger generation’s social experiments – it is the future of advertising, marketing and customer service.   

For many service businesses, like CMF, social media is more about thought leadership and sparking conversation in the social technology realm crossing geographical boundaries and connecting through common interests. Who knew writing a 140-character tweet in front of a link could have so much potential? Our experience so far with social media is evolving and we follow a few simple rules:

1. Keep it simple and to the point.
2. Don’t be “salesy” – it’s not a Dorito’s commercial during the Super Bowl. People who follow you on social media already know you, so you do not need to “convince” them – they are already convinced, so give them something thought provoking and useful.
3. Spark conversation – interesting and on the edge, but nothing too political or judgmental – create a conversation on current events in your industry/sector.
4. PC – when using a business Twitter handle or Facebook account, keep in mind that you are not speaking your own mind, you are speaking as a representative of your organization.  Make sure there are controls and monitors in place so that all posts are “appropriate” and consistent with the long term social media strategy of the Company.
5. Have fun!  It’s easy to tell when people are having fun engaging in social media based activities and fun usually leads to interesting conversation.