Social media is an important tool that companies and properties alike can use to connect with their audience, but engagement is about much more than simply being present. Dave Thomas from Radian6 took the stage today to discuss the importance of listening, measuring and participating in a social media program.
If Dave could leave delegates with only one thing to take away from his presentation today, he’d hope it would be to focus on the fundamentals. Lucky for me, I took away a little more and would love to share it with you.
“Only you understand your business,” says Dave. Everyone has an opinion about social media and it is important to figure out what works for you and your business. Social media has forever changed the way people and companies communicate. Speaking through press releases is no longer enough; people expect to communicate with human beings and as human beings.
Below are the top key learnings that resonated with me from David’s presentation and will help you “rev up” your social media ROI:
Number one: Listen. You need to know how to make it about “them,” not you.
Plan. Social media is only effective with it ties into your business objectives.
Engage. Talk to people the way they like to be talked to. Share information that they will find useful and give people something they want. Dave uses the analogy: how many people “liked” a business Facebook page because they love to read their press release? (No surprise, no hands!) Whether it’s a business blog, Facebook page, or Twitter feed, the reality is people engage because the like their content. Key learning: Tag it, excerpt it… infuse it with the “Google juice!” Think about how you can best optimize drive to your conversation
Analyze. Are your social media activities providing any value? Do you have what people want?
Integrate your findings into your strategic planning process.
Understand the value of your time. Analyze how much you spent compared to how much you sold.
Start with campaigns vs. understanding the ROI of your entire marketing department. That’s a realistic number that you can attain and plan for in a reasonable amount of time.
Make your campaigns trackable.
Be realistic.
Follow Dave on Twitter @DavidBThoms for more insights! You can also find his presentation on slide share.