emerged media

highlighting the best digital advertising campaigns, interactive marketing trends, technological innovation, and anything else that inspires creative thought, pushes the interactive medium, and creates a conversation. by brian o'shea

the social media bandwagon

over the past 18 months a veritable “space race” has been waged in the social media space.  agencies, marketers, and corporations are tapping into the medium as a tactic to transform broadcast media monologues into social media dialogues.  i like to equate social media with the high school locker who’s inside door students personalize with things that are meaningful to them, with the intent of drawing attention from others who pass by to them.  social media is also a little bit like the crazy man on the corner at state and washington, shouting through a bullhorn at any pedestrian or passerby willing to listen.  there is no dobut that social media is absolutely the driving force behind today’s “attention economy” and the current “culture of me.” there are some great benefits to using social media as a broadcast vehicle to promote your brand or service, but my biggest concern with social media is that very few brands know how to use and harness it effectively.  i offer some tips below based on learnings that i’ve acquired over the past 13 years and benchmarks that i’ve set for my clients.

  1. have a distinct voice - strive to be original and have a unique voice or point of view.  the space is getting more and more crowded and sometimes it’s easier to take advantage of a group that’s successful in order to further your own cause.  don’t poach or try to cash in on someone else’s efforts.  be unique.  be original.  be creative with your message.
  2. avoid shameless self promotion - read the post below for a great reference to this.  lebron and his team severely damaged their brands because of poor execution, but largely because of hubris.  give your followers something of “real” value.  this gives people a reason to follow and trust you.  do not EVER try to sell your client something.  you can tout your product’s benefits, but be subtle and smart about it.  give your followers reasons to care.
  3. help others - i get a linkedin request every other day and in most instances the person is either trying to sell me something or sell to one of my connections.  i don’t answer them, but i also do not say that “i don’t know them.”  the “IDK” defeats the purpose of having an open platform.  after too many, the user’s access to invites and other information is restricted.  if you want to approach me, don’t sell me, give me something of value and i WILL return the favor.  most people inherently…take…take…take…and never give.  do things the other way around, which is true to the spirit of social media, and you will be noticed.
  4. be transparent - tell me who you are and be specific about what you want.  no hidden agendas please.  this applies to brand marketers and businesses selling their services. 
  5. love it, or leave it - i am one of those “connectors,” someone who enjoys meeting people socially and connecting them with others in my network, personal and professional.  i love the open exchange of ideas and collaboration with other smart like-minded people.  it’s easy.  it’s effortless.  it’s true to the core of who i am.  people can tell if your brand is disingenuous or if you are trying to sell them something.  
  6. don’t annoy your followers - people get overly excited about tweeting and posting updates to their social media pages.  keep crying wolf, and you will be eaten alive.  this is the reason why i thought that foursquare was such a horrible idea.  too many tweets and updates are obnoxious and they will kill your brand and dilute your offering. 
  7. use widgets and tags - if you’re investing a lot in social media then try to make it accessible to everyone who might be interested.  take advantage of all your company’s website real estate (websites, blogs, etc) to help grow your following.  adding a widget that allows users to retweet or follow is a pretty simple and well worth it.  the tweetmeme badge is great and very easy to embed.   
  8. quality vs. quantity - don’t fret about the number of followers you have on your social media page.  there are a lot of snake oil salesman touting that they can help you increase your number of followers.  sure, but most of your “followers” will be bots or people following you hoping that you will follow them back.  the “eternal city” was not built in a day and it takes a while to organically build up your social media profile.  focus on building great content and on being helpful…the followers will come.  
  9. absorb, learn, and optimize  - based on the success that others are having in the space.  check out wefollow to find influential twitter users within your niche or industry vertical.  watch and learn from them.
  10. follow people within your niche - your ideal follower is someone who wants to be an ambassador for your brand or with similar interests within your niche.  once you start following them participate in the discussion and retweet things that are helpful to your own community.  this will help you build your follower counts and gives you more influence within your niche.