briansolis - Latest Comments in 3 Realities of Social Media

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

📊DrKPI.com👨‍💼U.E. Gattiker — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:45:42 -0000

Smartwomenstupidcomputers: your point about relationship and building trust and customer service is right on the money. Hotmail e-mail is right when she says that small business may not spend much money on marketing but the challenge is to know:

a) where to spend the money for marketing most effectively, AND
b) where and how social media comes in for a smaller company doing B2B

Moreover, why should small businesses even know better if the big luxury brands fail miserably at this as well?

http://commetrics.com/articles/engaging-for-rea...

Brian thanks for this post, nice and to-the-point as usual.

Urs
@ComMetrics

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

ladyleet — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:31:58 -0000

awesome post, michael! way to put things frankly.

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

smartwomenstupidcomputers — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:39:52 -0000

I love this post and I agree wholeheartedly. We do not have any social media "experts" quite yet.
This is still in it's infancy and evolving. I am a web/blog designer, teacher and speaker so I am often asked my advice in these areas.
I try to warn my clients to use caution when hiring "social media experts", just as some of my clients have gotten so burned with so called "SEO" experts.
Finally I have found great success, and new clients, by participation in relevant forums and actually developing trust and helping others. I advise my clients to do the same. I still believe in the end, it is all about relationships and building trust and great customer service.

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

RogerJH — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:39:39 -0000

Good post, Michael, thank you for sharing. How interesting that most of your comments are around your assertion that there are no experts. I think I get what you are trying to say. The problem is that if you look at the definition of expert, it's hard to argue that some people in social media are more "expert" than others. That is, the word can be an adjective as well as a noun. Of course, we don't want to bog down in semantics! That said, when transparency and integrity online are so important today (in this age of spammers and e-charlatans), if someone calls themselves an expert, they need to justify that. So if Brian Solis (himself an expert?) says there is no such thing, it throws a negative light on those peoples' reputations and sense of worth. So I would say that some people are more expert than others but whether they call themselves an expert or not is a moot point. It's just a label.

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

Susan Guillory — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:27:33 -0000

Great post. I'm excited to see how these realities shift in a few years. More and more, I'm seeing Twitter mentioned in mainstream media, like on the UFC fight, or in Travel + Leisure magazine. I like that. I want more of it, because Twitter and social media are my language. And I like businesses that speak my language.

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

Bullaman — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:17:16 -0000

Organisations have a long way to go to even remotely understanding social media...even those actively engaged in online marketing activties. And with this lack of understanding, anyone presenting themselves as an "expert" will often be accepted as one.

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

hotmail email — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:28:08 -0000

I am actually more concerned with 79% SMBs spending less than $5,000 a year in marketing,
which is probably the one thing typical about these respondents and all SMBs. This indicates they don’t believe in spending on marketing or marketing is worth the money.

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

scarlettpencilpoint — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:44:25 -0000

Just an FYI, in point number 2, it should read "every day" -- two words. "Everyday" written as one word is an adjective, as in "this is my everyday coat, not my dressy coat." Hope that helps.

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

seantmcvey — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:22:40 -0000

I agree most with the fact that nobody is yet a social media expert. Every company is different, technology is constantly changing, and the adapters will prevail. It appears the conversations online are replacing old school branding and marketing techniques which makes sense. The problem is that social media and online conversations take time to develop and it is difficult to connect these methods to the bottom line. How do I convince old school clients to invest a year or more in social media without concrete results? I have had many discussions on this topic and I am continually experimenting with metrics and analytics. Just curious though, how do you all convince the old school to invest?

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

LaTease Rikard — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:09:38 -0000

This represents a first in the mind of corporate America, "people get it, brands don't"---the internet is evolving into a people driven entity, where our behaviors, our interests are driving search and consumerism. It will be interesting to watch the trends this Christmas as reports are being released that consumers will again shop less this holiday season. I predict consumers will look for more online deals than ever before, and social media will be used as a conduit to find the best deals.

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

Beiruta — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:44:16 -0000

You are right: there are no social media experts yet, thus, there are no social media "gurus" as well! We are all still learning and developing through usage and trial/error.

Although some know more than others, the truth remains that we are all still ignorant to the ins and outs of social media in a comprehensive organized manner!

Great read... Thanks

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

justsail — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:25:02 -0000

It's great to have the difference in advertising a brand through social media and having a brand connect with people though social media pointed out. Many people believe that social media is a way to reach consumers with their advertisements, but it's more than that. Social media users will quickly begin to disregard anything that that brand puts out once if it's merely ads, ads, ads; there has to be some element of personal connection there between the brand and its consumers.

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

lizzymagvire — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:26:55 -0000

Excellent. This is just the kind of exceptional service that many of us early believers and customers expected.
fitflop

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

Michael Brito — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:01:33 -0000

hello everyone. thank you for your positive comments! ; )

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

iCe_MoUtOn — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:17:20 -0000

Absolutely brilliant post, every point is extremely valid and I couldn't add anything to it! Great job!

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

julito77 — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:59:51 -0000

This is an amazing post, right on, dead on target, and that is why we truly believe that all rules have changed and we are part of the next era where relationships are being transformed on a daily basis at lightening speed. Established companies better be careful or else the disruptive companies will take over. Nice post.

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

mediakaleid — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:28:59 -0000

It's not everthing about twitter and organizations moving in to social media. I think it is the thing how organizations find a valuable way to combine the different new opportunities which a given through the change of technology and also the change of broadcast habits. There are changes out there every single day and the valuable way is to be transparent every time - although if that means that you be less present on twitter etc. the thing is that most consumers in contrast to organizations, pr people etc. are sometimes the real experts concerning social media.

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

CraigElimeliah — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:57:34 -0000

Social media strategy is one that has to be led from behind... Brands cannot lead the conversation however as a brand you can help alleviate and address issues or concerns that customers are ranting about or simply acknowledge or maybe even reward the good that is being said. The collective is powerful and if the collective is aware that the brand is aware then the feedback will be both constructive and meaningful as well as valuable. Democratizing marketing is the new model and when the collective sees that their voices are not being heard they will abandon the brand for one that does listen. Listening can come in all forms, providing input, tools, advice, value added information and so on, this will adhere your customers to the brand in a way that will be the most intimate ever. Trying to dominate the conversation will result in a form of not listening, responding in a way where your customers feel heard is the key to social media success.

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

Britt — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:41:10 -0000

You've nailed it. Too many times business owners come to us and tell us that the only reason they're blogging and using twitter and facebook is because they were told to do so. It's not about getting on every single platform online, it's about engaging prospects, learning about them and talking to them. It's really as simple as that. Thanks for the great tips!

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

dianesager — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:57:34 -0000

Great post. I completely agree wit Reality #3...lol. There are "Expert" jokes at every conference I attend, yet there are also always "Experts" present as well. I would love to hear your thoughts on identifying future trends when planning a social media strategy for brands. Thx!
Best,
@dianesager

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

lynnelle — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:41:23 -0000

Interesting and good points.

A slight bone to pick - not directed to you in particular, Michael. Your post is just the straw, I suppose. In a field that changes minute by minute, the 'experts' are those who continue up the learning curve and to evolve - as does the field itself. On the other hand, there ARE leaders in this field of new media - and they are those we follow and look to for guidance. At what point does a thought leader become an 'expert'? I say it's subjective. Saying there are "no experts" is itself a hype - started by ...the thought leaders themselves. Those attempting to brand themselves as experts are the ones declaring, "I'm an expert." Still, the declarations of "I'm NOT an expert...", bordering on feigned modesty - it's getting tiresome. IMHO

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

Matt Churchill — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:39:38 -0000

Couldn't agree more, but I don't think we are at a stage where we have experts yet, as such. We have communicators who have been advising brands for many years on how best they should interact with consumers, but anyone who says they are a 'social media' expert is probably the first person to avoid when trying to find someone who's advice you are looking to take. Indeed, it is often these people who fall into the trap of point two, and focus on the platform used to address, rather than the people they are addressing.

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

Nick Shin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:01:56 -0000

To hear this, "Reality #3: There is no such thing as a social media expert quite yet" is so reassuring. Innovative, influential, and a thought leaders are qualities of an expert. Great job on this thought provoking post.

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

sazbean — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:01:08 -0000

Great post. I think I'd add, closely related to Reality #1:
Reality #4: Consumers don't always know how to connect with Brands even if they wanted to. From a consumer standpoint, sometimes something really great happens and you want to connect with the brand to let them know. When you go to their website, all you get is a contact form. If you do bother to fill it out, you probably get some kind of canned response. Or let's go the other way, and say you're having a problem that you want help with. You're probably also going to have to go through a contact form. That brand may be on various social media, Twitter, Facebook, whatever, but do they make that obvious to their customers? Is social media stuck on the marketing side or is integrated throughout their customer relations? If they do provide customer support via social media, how do consumers find out about it?

Re: 3 Realities of Social Media

JasonPeck — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:13:47 -0000

Message boards and forums are certainly not dead. Glad to see someone saying something positive about them.