Now here is some juice for the PMC 2.0 guys out there. This is mostly some Kaizen for you bloggers and ezine guys, but PMC/PSC and the military could use this stuff too. I am not saying all of them are a good ideas, but these are things to think about as we evolve and improve. –Matt
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PRSA 2008 New Influencers of Social Media Marketing
Posted by Nicole on Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 –
New influencers are creating new sources of media, who are these new influencers? You, me and even Joe the plumber. How is this possible? We are now publishers we are able to report, comment and even create news content, we have the news and the media is now coming to us.
Paul Gillin, author of The New Influencers, states that there are Ten Secrets to Success of Social Media. But to understand these we must first realize that traditional media is declining and that search is the new circulation. Once we understand this we as PR professionals will be able to understand how each person is an influencer of media marketing and will become more successful in our marketing and media strategies.
Secret # 1- Don’t Fear Negativity. We must learn to accept that we cannot control what people say, but that we can contain negativity to a certain degree. There are always going to be people that may disagree with what you say or what you do, but the trick is to realize it and accept it. If you make a mistake fess up to it. After all if you don’t and it is proven that you were in the wrong you are just adding fuel to the fire.
The best example of this is Dell Computers, in 2007 a former employee wrote an article for the Consumerist titles, ” 22 Confessions of A Former Dell Employee.” Dell was not happy about this not that the article was attacking Dell, but that they felt the Consumerist had no right to post the article without Dell’s consent. Dell emailed the Consumerist telling them to take down the post. Well, the Consumerist did not like this demand and posted the email from Dell on their site. Needless to say Dell realized they were wrong for asking to take down the post and offered an apology. Unfortunately, there was some damage done to Dell’s reputation. All Dell had to do was realize this was out of their control, and that there was no negativity regarding the Dell brand.
Secret # 2 – Start with the Goal Not the Tool. Always remember to keep your audience in mind when you decide to implement your strategy. Using a blog as a way to inform and display your product, but if you want to really communicate look at what tool would be more effective.
* Podcasts
* Online Videos
Match the tool you use to the audience that you are trying to connect to.
Secret # 3 – Embrace Niche Markets. Niche markets are:
* Knowledgeable
* Engaged
* Responsive
* Helpful
* Spenders
Once you inform these niche market audiences of what you have to offer then the information can reach specific groups, you connect to people from all over.
Secret # 4 – Empower Your People to Speak for Your Company. If you do not give the opportunity for your employees to speak for your organization and to learn how to talk about your organization you are setting yourself up to fail. If someone ask your employee what your company is about and they cannot answer you lose credibility. Let your people blog about who your company is, this is a great way to get inbound links and awareness of your brand.
Secret # 5 – Master Search. Educate yourself and your company how to use search engines and analytic sites to measure your popularity. Do you know how your consumers are finding you? By leveraging sites that give you results you drive your brand awareness and find out who your target market really is.
Secret # 6 – Think Like a Publisher. How do you do this? Get your brand out there, learn how to leverage all sources of media and communications.
* Blogs postings
* Newsletters
* RSS feeds
* Podcasts
If you don’t publish yourself and you wait for someone else to, then you won’t get the recognition you want.
Secret # 7 – Ditch the 13 Week Campaign. Using social media takes longer than traditional campaigns. You must build trust, engage the community and respond accordingly before you see results. Once the results start to come in they are lasting, your brand is trusted in your community which you have built and your community will spread the word of how great you are.
Secret # 8 – Don’t Be Afraid to Try Something New. Once you feel your marketing strategy is starting to flatten out reinvent your approach. This is what PR and Media Relations is all about reinvention. Blogging for a client may payoff more than an email campaign. Evaluate who your target is has it changed? If so, a new approach is probably the best.
Secret # 9 – Use It Straight. What this means is do not be afraid of feedback. If you blog you must enable comments, this is how you find out what is working and what is not. If you are meeting your audiences needs or if you are not. Take comments with optimism, it is hard for someone to be angry with people who are nice to them and who listen to what they have to say.
Finally secret # 10 – Give to Get. Offer value to your audience. Give your audience a chance to create your marketing strategy. Why is this so important? This tells your audience that you value them, you are here for them and want to help them succeed.
By following these Ten Secrets to Success of Social Media you are giving yourself and your clients a chance to succeed and more importantly you become the influencer you shape how you are preceived.
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