Where is social media heading in 2009? Here’s a few thoughts from some experts (compiled by US social media marketing guru Peter Kim).
(If this online document is too small to read, download the PDF here)
Social media
markets are conversations
A couple of days ago we talked about an authentic and ‘human’ voice in your online communications. Here’s some more info in a knowledgeable and very readable presentation. (Click on the controls at the bottom of the presentation to view it.)
keeping it real, but how real?
‘Authenticity’ is the name of the game with social media campaigns. Real voices holding real conversations with customers. But where is the line between your corporate voice and your personal voice and how (if at all should) should you distinguish between them?
For small business owners, who you are as a person is vitally important to how your business is perceived. Your personal voice would be a real asset online. And you can mix personal stories in with your business messages.
For large corporates, showing a human side is important to personalise decisions made by a company and to personalise experiences for customers.
For example, you can find Vodafone’s external comms guy, Paul Brislen, popping up (casually, but always on-message) regularly on the web with comments on blogs and other online environments in an effort to tell his company’s story and correct information where-ever people are commenting on Vodafone.
Here are two other blog posts on the dilemma of professional/personal online personae:
Social Media Identity: Personal vs. Professional
Can professional and personal social media strategies successfully coexist?
we don’t talk like we used to
Hey, marketing people, relate, don’t preach, to your customers. Here’s why! …
online video the new media release?
Video is being used more and more as an online communication tool of choice – including how-to instruction guides; vlogs (video blogs); promotional and marketing tools; and real world marketing activity being videoed and the video put online. The good thing is top-end production values are not always necessary. A strong idea well-constructed inexpensively and quickly can be just as successful, if you know how to find and engage your audience.
Here’s a blog piece that explains the concept and shows some useful case studies; another giving some tips on making and marketing online video; another explaining how to find an audience using YouTube; and here’s an article in the NZ Herald charting the rise of ‘webisodes’.
social media case studies by the truckload!
Looking for social media ideas and inspiration? Here’s a super-useful superlist of 18 other lists containing tons of real-world examples of social media initiatives.