Making social media work.(On Marketing)

THIS COLUMN IS NEITHER A breathless ode to social media nor an overly skeptical "have you noticed the dropout rate on Twitter" rant. My recent speaking and consulting engagements tell me that it's simply time for a reality check and guide to social media--from a business decision-maker's perspective. (Note from the title that I am putting "work" in the same breath as "social.")

For guidance I enlisted Mack Collier, a friend who also happens to be one of the nation's top bloggers (his blog The Viral Garden consistently ranks in the top 15, according to FeedBurner) and an insightful consultant to many companies for their social-media efforts (I recommend visiting MackCollier.com). I asked Mack several provocative questions about blogs, social-media tools and their relevance for people doing business in Arkansas.

Q: Are there specific keys to making a blog successful for business?

A: The biggest mistake most businesses make when they launch a blog is thinking how they can use it to promote themselves. They should think instead about who they want to be reading the blog, and what value it creates for those readers. This is a big shift in mindset for many companies, because they want to view social media as a new promotional channel.

It isn't. Social media, no matter what form you use, is simply a communication tool.

As for what you should blog about--you can still leverage your blog as a tool to ultimately promote your business, but do it indirectly. If your company sells cameras, then blog about photography and how to take better pictures. If you sell pet supplies, share "10 Steps to Giving the Perfect Dog Bath."

Q: How do you rate sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter in terms of their potential for business?

A: It's not about the tools, but rather the people who will be using the tools.

It doesn't make sense to use the hot new hammer that everyone is buzzing about if the job requires a drill. In order to determine what (if any) social media tools your business should be using, I would ask these questions:

* How many people, and how much time, can be devoted to your social media efforts? Social media requires a ton of time. And like anything else, the more time you can commit, the better your results, on average. I am constantly contacted by companies that want to launch a new blog, that want to be on Facebook, and on Twitter.

When I ask how many people will handle all this, they say, "Well, I will." That's probably not enough.

* Why do you want to use a blog/ Facebook/Twitter? Do some research to figure out where those people you want to reach are today and which tools they are using. It makes no sense to launch a Twitter presence if all your current and potential customers are on LinkedIn. I think every company should have a social media monitoring system in place; use free tools such as Google Blog Search and Twitter search to see what people are saying about you, your company, your competitors and your industry.

Q: How do you counsel businesses in tying social-media tools to their Web sites and even their offline marketing efforts?

A: Ultimately you want to use social media tools to create value for others, and that value creation raises your awareness with current and potential customers. But you need to capitalize on that raised awareness by giving customers the ability to get in touch with you, to learn more about you and maybe even buy. In other words, you want to move them to the next level and use that added interest to your advantage.

One example we are seeing is businesses giving away codes on Twitter that customers can then use for offline sales. This is also a good way to track the effectiveness of Twitter (and you could do this on your blog as well).

This leads to perhaps the most important tip: When you launch social media efforts, make sure you have some way to measure your efforts and track effectiveness in ways that are relevant to business.

Jim Karrh, Ph.D., of Little Rock is a marketing consultant, speaker and trainer. Email him at jimkarrh@aol.com.

Print Get the Mag Weekly Updates