Social media is all the rage these days. It is no longer just the interest of your 16 year old daughter or the chronicles of life on a college campus. These past couple of weeks, I have had several people (outside of work) ask me about social media – what it is, how to do it, how it works, etc.
Meet Mr. Social. He’s practical, sensible and sensitive.
From my cousin asking about Twitter or my boyfriend’s mother about Facebook, to random people I meet that gripe about social media being a waste of time, it seems to be everywhere I turn.
But why?
What makes social media so special?
Whether you look at it from a marketing perspective or simply as a way to stay connected to friends, family and the rest of the world, social media is quite practical in our modern, speed-of-the-web society. Here are 14 practical uses for social media.
We're not supposed to talk about how great we are. (photo by JSolomon)
Time to take a step back.
Time to take a good look at what we’re doing here at RSA. The economy is down – way down, and people are cutting advertising and marketing budgets, big time. Looks like 2009 is shaping up to be a “building year,” right?
Maybe not. The problem is, we’re still as busy as ever, and I guess that’s less of a problem and more a relief. Some might call it good luck; I call it hard work and a passion for what we do. And a passion for having food to eat, there’s also that.
And yet we have been building as well. Since late last year we’ve added new departments, new staff, and new teams. We’ve got a new website on deck, and are partnering with new clients weekly. …Read more »
Despite the mass of “What Is LinkedIn?” articles out there on the web, LinkedIn still remains a mystery to many. The main question seems to be “why is it useful?” And that’s not surprising. Our free time is limited, and we hardly want to spend hours on yet another website that offers little value.
The value of a website can be measured by what we each get out of our time spent on that website. So for some people LinkedIn will be a waste of time. For others, it will be the most valuable website they ever used. So how can you find value in it?
LinkedIn is a professional networking destination. If Twitter is the cocktail party and Facebook business casual, LinkedIn is the business suit (h/t @paulchaney). Here are a few brief reasons …Read more »
Previously I wrote about understanding social media, and explained how it is equalizing global communication and interaction, with specific consequences for business. I want to expand on this idea a bit and talk specifically about ‘marketing‘ on the social web.
Social web?
Yeah, that’s my term du jour. I’ve been slap-fighting a little bit with the whole concept of “social media,” and the fact that this commonly-used phrase just doesn’t work as a definition. It’s too broad; misleading, even. “Social web” is broad as well, certainly, but more specific in scope. It’s made up of spaces across the internet where people can interact with one another – we’re all familiar with some of the more popular technologies that facilitate this communication. The point is that conversations are happening here.
What’s that got to do with business and marketing?
Quite a bit, potentially. A business that approaches the social web the right way can benefit greatly, while providing value for their customers or prospects. Vague enough for you? …Read more »
Social media campaigns should have a start and finish. BUT campaigns are only a piece of the social media marketing puzzle.
For several months, I’ve had an issue with people using the term “campaign” when talking about social media marketing. This bothers me because, overall, social media marketing needs to be looked at as ongoing process/strategy and it should not be thought of with a beginning and an end.
Last week, Tracey, Kyle and I attended a presentation by social media strategist Jason Baer.
His talk was lively, entertaining, to the point and right on – breaking down 7 ways to use social media:…Read more »
There are multiple myths surrounding advertising (not to mention marketing as a whole) that rob good advertising of its worth and credibility in the minds of small business owners. Most of these illusions stem (of course) from cost. For instance, paying more for something does not necessarily make it better than the less expensive product. On the other hand, paying less for something does not make it a better deal. So what can you do? …Read more »
I’m excited – There’s nothing like being around people that are part of a common goal and vision for their industry – It’s great to see tourism friends and hear their perspectives on how their year went, how they are planning for the next year, and especially how their family is doing back home.
Overall, the conference had some excellent speakers for the seminars. My favorites were Garrison Wynn, Beth Terry, and Matt Baily. They were professionals that lead the way by teaching and encouraging an open forum. They also, like any good speaker, had great quotes: …Read more »
