Part III: SOCIAL MEDIA
There was a time, not so long ago, when getting your blog post on the homepage of Digg meant receiving more traffic in one day than your blog had seen all year. Remember when Twitter was simply a “micro blogging” platform where you'd tweet about your trip to the zoo or what you had for dinner? (Okay, perhaps that hasn't changed so much.) What about before your mom got on Facebook? That was back in the day, right?
Social Media Marketing: The Early Years
It used to be enough for a company to simply update their Twitter and Facebook pages every now and then. Social sites were used as a way to push your message and increase your following. Think back—how often did you participate in contests asking you to retweet a tweet, or like a Facebook page, for the chance to win a brand new iPad (or whatever the gadget du jour was)?
Remember, this was not all that long ago. However, we could argue that social media has been around for many, many years; remember Yahoo! profiles and build-your-own avatars, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), and user groups? These were all early forms of social media,
but it wasn't until sites like MySpace and Friendster came around that we really started to understand the power of connecting people online.
At some point along the way, marketers began to realize that social media was a great way to reach the masses. With more and more people flocking to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and countless other sites, marketers jumped in as well.
The biggest problem was that we (marketers) were focusing too much on the “us” and not enough on the “them.” Social media seemed to be an easy way to get our message out to more people, so that's what we did. We shouted our messages from the social media rooftops—and sometimes, people listened. However, more often than not, they didn't.
Social Media Awakening: It's Not
Just About Me, It's About You
Social media has become an integral part of everyday life. It is no longer something that just geeks or technology folks use. It's now part of mainstream communication. As a result, businesses and organizations have been forced to think about it much differently as well.
Companies are finding that social media is a great way to build and nurture a community online. What once was thought of as a way to push a message and agenda has now become
an opportunity to have a conversation. Marketers are finding that when they become a part
of the discussion and start focusing on the community, rather than themselves, they make more headway.
On that same note, it would be almost impossible to build a community without having some sort of help or support structure in place. Customer service now has a whole new life, and it comes in the form of social media. Some brands dedicate 100 percent of their social media accounts to helping customers, while others like to create separate accounts for support. This is simply another way to have a conversation and “engage” with the community. (I put that in quotes because it has become an annoying buzzword, and I want you to picture me saying it while I do air quotes and make a face “en-GA-ge.”)
We've learned that social media is far more than simply a way to broadcast, but a way to be a part of something bigger. It also makes a brand or company feel more human and approachable. Take a look at a couple of examples.
Example 1
Twitter user @proby tweets that he likes his new Red Wing shoes, but links to a photo of his broken shoelaces. @RedWingShoes was closely monitoring its brand mentions, saw the tweet, and immediately let him know that he could replace the shoelaces for free. Being available to help the customer and promote a service is a great way to build positive brand awareness. How much do you want to bet that the customer will buy Red Wing shoes again?
Example 2
A mother has tried several times via phone and email support to make sure that she will be seated next to her children on an 18-hour flight from South Africa to the U.S. She finally
gets frustrated and tweets to @DeltaAssist asking for help. Within an hour, Delta responds, asking the customer to send the flight information to them via a DM (direct message). The customer was able to get her issue resolved via Twitter faster and easier than she could using other avenues. This is a great example of why you should make sure your Social Media Manager has the power to make decisions quickly for the company (or has direct access to
the decision maker).
Social Media Management: The Online
Community Manager Is Born
Although it's taken some time for us to figure it out, social media has become an integral part of the greater Marketing team. It's no longer just a fun add-on that we ask the intern to manage without any pay.
With a greater focus on social media in companies and organizations, it's been imperative for a new breed of marketers to emerge. More recently, the role of Community Manager has begun to blossom. This role isn't always focused solely on social media, but that often is a huge portion of the job. Whatever their title, this person (or team!) is in charge of anything and everything from overall social strategy, to online customer service, to tracking social analytics—and usually does it all with a positive attitude.
Social Media Strategy: A Part of the Team
As a part of the greater marketing effort, the social media strategy is (or should be) aligned with the SEO strategy, the branding strategy, the blogging/content strategy, the advertising strategy, etc. If you're going to be a part of the future of social, you're going to need the full marketing team's support.
Right along with the other marketing team members, the social media strategist will also need to track specific key performance indicators (KPIs), set and accomplish goals, etc. While each organization may focus on different KPIs, some of the central metrics will include increases in social followings/fans/likes, brand mentions, response time (for more customer service focused accounts), and traffic coming from social sites.
The goals of the social marketer will also differ depending on the company, niche, size of community, and many other factors. It's often a good idea to start small and focus on one area, then expand from there. For example, at Moz, we started by focusing on Twitter with the goals of increasing followers, mentions, and replies. Once we met these goals, we increased them for Twitter, and then started building up Facebook. Since we only had one person focused on Community/Social Media at the time, it was necessary to prioritize. We simply couldn't afford to jump into every social channel imaginable.
As you build and grow the social portion of your marketing team, be sure to set goals that
are realistic and make sense for your organization. It's okay to take things slow, and build
up organically!
Social Media: What Does the Future Hold?
As we move forward at Moz, the role of social media will continue to grow into a bigger portion of the overall marketing strategy. The focus will be on joining and becoming “one” with the community, and being human. As someone said (I seriously feel bad I can't remember who it was) at a conference I recently attended, “You're no longer competing against other companies; you're competing against the user's mom, sister, friends, and coworkers.” It's time for you to participate in the conversation and talk about things your community wants to discuss, rather than just your own agenda.