On February 26 I gave a brief presentation co-sponsored by North Coast Small Business Development Center and the Redwood Technology Consortium’s Internet Marketing Group. As the title suggests it was a high level overview of the current state of social media marketing and my opinions on what works and what doesn’t. The slideshow isn’t that informative, but here it is in any case. Links to resources mentioned are below.
Resources Mentioned
- The Pew Survey on Social Media Demographics
- Coming and Going on Facebook (also from Pew)
- Google Alerts
- Google Analytics
- NetVibes
- HootSuite
- Buffer
- If This Then That
- Social Media Examiner
- Social Media Today
- HubSpot
I think the core of my talk is the section on Content Marketing. That’s the new buzzword but for years the mantra has been Content is King and it’s essentially the same concept: Create valuable content whether it’s with a blog, newsletter, training videos, white papers, case studies, even testimonials. Embed that stuff in your site (good for SEO) and then post about those things on as many places and platforms as you can. Social Media Marketing should have 2 goals:
- Get people to market for you: If you provide value they will.
- Drive traffic to your site where you can control the experience (capture leads and/or conduct transactions).
I would love to hear your experiences with making social media marketing effective and efficient. And any great tools you discover along the way. Add your comments below! And as always, please share this post on your networks.
…”that’s what the blog host deleted.”
Get a job.
Did Joel introduce himself into something? Who is you, Joel, as “us”? You personalizing as well? What do you have to say about anything today? Does Joel have a habit of “wagging fingers”, this being a case in point? Where does one draw a line on a landscape that doesn’t exist?
etc. ad infinitum
…what about in fifty years?
Thanks for typing a lot, anonymous cultural critic. I’m sure that we’re all better off for having had you wag your finger at us.
Where is the landscape of the social media? It’s a metaphysical space inside your head as much as it is within an anonymous blog participant. The more time a human being spends staring at a computer screen believing themselves to be somewhere they are not…any particular website, for example…the more they lose touch with where they really are. The upcoming generation is spending inordinate amounts of time framing their behavioral ideology to conform to the relentless battery of commercial intent on an electronic screen in front of them. The effects are frighteningly real. And it’s surprising to see how many of the older generation has succumbed to play-along television just the same. The internet is full of fakes, and not of the anonymous idiot coward variety you believe me to be.
As a result of social media’s effectiveness in controling situations in physical landscapes, ecology is being forsaken for economy at an accelerating ratio. Organic, living landscape is being replaced by constructs of economy at an increasing rate. Language spoken within the landscape of social media is geared to make the most amount of people believe otherwise, and it’s proving very successful. The languge never claims otherwise.
As for your questions, you can answer them yourself and they will be as correct as an anonymous blog poster might insist they are incorrect. That’s one of the wonders of the internet. This has nothing to do with your “blog post”, right? I am not believing myself to be walking around within the landscape you may or may not believe yourself to be. You have solicited response, and you got one. You have succeeded in getting me to type what I think as I think it. Your welcome.
The only “nerve” you struck was the one that objects to stupid, meaningless, crude comments by people who refuse to own up to them. I guess you could say I take that personally. As for your last 2 questions, I have no idea what they refer to. I’m not sure what your goal here is since you obviously have no interest in the topic of the blog post. Or maybe I’m wrong. Do you mean to say that people who use social media to try and promote their business or organization are somehow evil? Or is the attack just about me? I made no money from the presentation (unless you count the lunch they gave me).
He’s as inarticulate as he is illogical.
4. Re-read Rule #3.
Did I strike a nerve? If so, why? Did you take the comment personally? Who do you believe anonymous bloggers to be in that case? Under what conditions do you believe they may have discovered your own website? And is your response how you would advise others to begin controlling the experience?
Thought-provoking talk, Bob. The social media phenomenon is difficult for busy people to keep up with, and it’s great to hear insights from an informed observer.
Oh, and I’ll second what you said to the clown (above).
You’re both an idiot and a coward. First of all, they’re not rules, they’re goals. Second, at no point have I every expressed the idea that social media is only about making money. In fact, for me that’s really only a small part of it. But that’s what the topic was. Not how to use social media to change the world. Third, if you’re going to post comments, especially derogatory comments, have the courage to use a real name and email address.
3. Don’t give a fuck about the real world, it’s all about money.