Dive In – The Water is Warm
February 12th, 2008
Social media. Social media marketing. Social networking. Social this, social that. I know, you keep hearing it and probably know a little about it, but how do you get started with social media?
For a lot of traditional markets, social media marketing can be a scary thing, but it shouldn’t be. It is just another way of communicating with your customers, which honestly is what pays the bills.
So let’s start simple, with what is social media. According to Wikipedia:
Social Media Marketing is a form of internet marketing which seeks to achieve branding and marketing communication goals through the participation in various social media networks such as MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, social web applications (webapps) such as reddit, Digg, Stumbleupon, Flickr, Wikipedia, Squidoo, Twitter, ePinions and others as well as within 3D virtual worlds such as Second Life, ActiveWorlds, Moove and There.com. The goals of each program or campaign will differ for every business or organization, however most will involve some form of building an idea or brand awareness, increasing visibility, encouraging brand feedback and dialogue as well as to possibly sell a product or service.
Okay, I personally find it funny that Wikipedia is used in the definition of social media marketing from Wikipedia, but it fits as it is a great example of social media marketing.
So you know what it is, but what is the best way to get started with social media? I personally think before you can start using social media for your business, you need to start using it a little for yourself. This will help you have a better understanding of how to apply it to you business.
I am a reader of blogs and came across a blog entry that speaks to this subject. Rather than try to re-write what was written so well, I figured it was best to just share the original post. Here is Lisa McNeill’s blog posting, 5 Steps to Beating Social Media Marketing Cold Feet from the Ignite Social Media Blog. I have read several of Lisa’s blog postings and I like that she offers advice in simple, digestible ways.
…I realized that with this new year there may be a lot of traditional marketers out there who are nay-saying social media simply because they are still wrapping their minds about how exactly to get their feet wet in social media. So, I’ve taken a few steps back from the posts that assume that you already know this space, and instead wanted to do an introductory post of basically “how to get started”.
1. Set up an RSS Feed Reader and Subscribe to Feeds- Go ahead and start a feed reader that follows the blogs of the social media marketing geeks, in addition to blogs that may be talking about your company. I promise you will a) learn a lot more about how to appropriately enter the space, and b) learn about who is talking about you in the blogosphere. Of course you can start by adding Ignite
2. Start Twittering- No matter how pointless you think twittering is, start using it to follow even more social media geeks. I promise that the more you use it, the more value it will provide. As you connect with like-minded people on the subject, it will allow you to talk with them, ask questions, and have insight into links they find interesting, etc. Some of my favorite twitterers are: Wayne Sutton, Jeremiah Owyang, and Chris Brogan. You can also follow all of us: Jim Tobin, Gene Smith and me (Lisa McNeill) .
3. Start Studying- If you can’t understand how social media can be used for marketing – start studying as many case studies of companies who have tried it. Start by taking a look at the most infamous case studies like Dell, Wal-Mart, or Whole Foods, and then try to find some examples that may exist within your particular industry.
4. Start Filtering- Yes, there is a lot of social media tools out there that will beg for your attention and time. Instead of learning every tool that exists, begin to filter and understand how each may work to connect with your audience.
5. Start Social Bookmarking – Start dabbling in social bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon or Sphinn and install the toolbars to make it easier to promote articles you find interesting. This will take all of 5 minutes of your day, and can go hand in hand with your RSS reading.
After trying these 5, I hope you will join us in an awesome year of learning and growing…
Very well said Lisa! So my advice to everyone – get out there and give it a try. You have nothing to lose. Dive in, the water is warm and you may have a little bit of fun.
