SLEEPING LION BLOG

Social Media tip of the week – FriendorFollow.com

 

Twitter users check out: friendorfollow.com. Enter your Twitter name and this fab little site will break down your friends and followers into three categories:

• Following – those who you are following that are not following you back (to my surprise this showed me that neither Barack Obama nor Gordon Ramsey are interested in my Tweets!)
• Fans – those who are following you but you are not following them
• Friends – those who are following you and vice versa

Great if you are in the mood for a little Twitter housekeeping.

 

 

Is Social Media a Fad? I think not!

This video (created by Eric Qualman/Socialnomics) changed the way I felt about Social Media when I saw it back in July last year.  They have now updated some of the stats and it is even more powerful.  Well worth a view if you remain sceptical.

 

 

Successful Business Networking 'Online'

I put together this guide for 'Successful Business Online Networking' for a recent conference. General gist being to behave exactly as you would in traditional networking scenarios, plus make sure you have thought about why you are doing it and what you want to achieve.

Download Successful Business Networking 'Online' web

The Middle Ground of Social Media

I know I have touched on this before, but the more I get into (and talk to people about) social media, the more I see just how confused people are about how engaging in online activity can help their business. It's a polarising subject, with most people falling into two distinct camps.

 

The Fanatics

The fanatics can be rather intimidating and, frankly, quite scary. They are obsessive both in their frequency and detail of subject matter (and in some cases may even have lost many of their conventional social skills - using their own new language of 'online speak'). Their technological prowess and highly specific areas of online discussion frequently prove impenetrable or daunting to the layperson. This can be enough to make people who might otherwise be interested switch off and ignore the potential of the medium.

 

The Sceptics

Meanwhile the sceptics stick firmly to the view that social media is merely a passing fad, and that ultimately it will simply fizzle out. They are keeping their fingers firmly crossed that we will soon return to a familiar broadcast marketing world, where those who shout the loudest win the business. With their heads planted firmly in the sand, they are desperately hoping that the whole business of having grown-up conversations, showing transparency, listening and responding sympathetically to customers, and providing the right product at the right price for the right audience, will simply go away – which frankly 'ain't going to happen'. We are way past the tipping point of social media; the horse has well and truly bolted and is long gone over the horizon.

 

The other fundamental point here is that online media has blown the sales interface wide open. This, in many cases, has revealed the candid truth behind how some companies try to foist inappropriate and substandard products on an increasingly resistant public. The veil has now well and truly been lifted. Consumers now have a powerful voice and they simply won't tolerate poor quality products or services any more.

 

Beautifully put in a quote I recently read in Marketing Week, "Brands are no longer what we (marketers) tell people they are, they're what their friends tell them they are".

 

So whether or not Twitter continues its meteoric rise or Facebook gives way to 'the next big thing', the principles of social media, and the impact these have on the way we should do business, are here to stay. It will continue to provide a platform for peer-to-peer endorsements (and a place to share grievances), and companies that choose not to engage with and involve their customers will fail to harness this powerful sales potential - not to mention its many other business benefits

 

The Middle Ground

So here's the sensible middle ground. By taking the time to understand the new rules of marketing, companies can successfully tap into this exciting new world and hugely benefit from building a realistic online media strategy. The knack is not to panic, nor to charge in and put the cart (activity) before the horse (strategy). Companies need to understand the building blocks of social media and not simply 'dive in' because everyone else is. Just because it's called 'social' media – doesn't mean it should be without a strategy or not in keeping with overall business goals. Important questions need to be considered before leaping into Twitter accounts here, and Facebook fan pages there.

 

"Who are my various 'influencer' groups online?" i.e. existing customers, new clients, media, stakeholders, employees, potential partners, investors?

"Where are these 'influencers' hanging out online?" i.e. Facebook, LinkedIn, niche communities, Twitter?

"How do I want to come across with each of these groups?" i.e. knowledgeable, fun, approachable, credible, human, exclusive?

"What is my desired response from each of these groups?" i.e. sales, PR, referrals, endorsements, investment, general brand engagement?

"Realistically, what resources do I have?"

 

So to the sceptics still out there I say please don't be put off by the fanatics, and don't stay in a social media hermit cave. It's time to come out and find out what's involved. It is not nearly as complicated as you might fear.

The Michelin Guide – years ahead of its time

Just read a really good article in Marketing Week (11^th February) by Richard Madden – 'Stop putting the social media cart before the content horse'. He gives a fantastic example of the principals behind great social marketing campaigns, using a case study from over 100 years ago! He takes the story from a book by Herbert Lottman called The Michelin Men: Driving an Empire.

He writes 'A little surprisingly for a social media case study, the story starts in France in 1900, when brothers Edouard and Andre Michelin were searching for a cost-effective way to build their car and bicycle tyre brand. Their solution, as everyone knows, was to publish the definitive travel guide for road users. What is so impressive is the way in which the Michelin Guide achieved so much of what is great about the best social media, a full 100 years before the channel's invention. It wasn't about tyres, but about something much more interesting to the French – food. The original Michelin guide ticked all the social media best practice boxes. It was genuinely useful, it invited participation, it was given away free at petrol stations, and readers were invited to provide corrections and suggestions. They were even encouraged to leave the guide in view when visiting restaurants to guarantee good service.'

Food for thought, particularly for my fellow hospitality people!

Social Media - My Style, My Frequency

 

Last year I concentrated on all things social media, which enabled me to help many of my hospitality clients with workshops and starter programmes for staff.

 

I love the world of social media and get particularly excited about how businesses can integrate this effectively into their overall marketing strategy. I do, however, continue to be mystified by the extraordinary range of things that people blog about, and what on earth motivates them to do it.

 

People’s approaches to online vary hugely.

 

1. The Fanatics   

They are obsessive both in their frequency and detail of subject matter, and in some cases may even have lost many of their conventional social skills. As such, they are effectively relying on social media as their window to the world.

 

2. The Detractors

They remain uninvolved in social media, although the extent of debate about it in all walks of life means that they have to pretend to know at least something. The generous ones are self-deprecating and claim they are Luddites, while the more dismissive find holes in its value, typically citing the dangers of stalkers on Facebook.

 

3. The GINGIs

These are what I call the Got It Not Got It proportion of social media users. They are using it, but for reasons that are not always apparent or helpful to their friends or colleagues.

 

For example, in the case of a GINGI, I might well know through their social announcements on Twitter or Facebook that they voted for Jedward in X Factor, that they had tuna and sweetcorn for lunch, or that they are a fan of Marmite, but in truth I have no idea of how they really are. So I’ll pick up the phone and chat. In this respect, I do wonder whether the medium is being used correctly.

 

A GINGI in business may be bombarding their new-found online audience with promotional wibble, without recognizing the importance of engaging and actually conversing with potential new customers.

 

This is a tricky area. Ignoring any snobbery about the ‘correct’ way to use a medium, I do feel that people and businesses could think harder about why, when and how they use social media.  In social situations, some people talk more than others. And I believe it should be OK to do that online too (without upsetting the fanatics).

 

I think that all individuals and businesses should be establishing their own pattern of interaction, and would do well to enact a social media strategy based on the simple mantra of My Style, My Frequency.