Page 220 - Social Media Marketing

c h a p t e r 7: ╇ F ive E ssential T ips╇ ■Review and Hands-On

Applying social media principles effectively in business is both straightforward and
challenging. It is straightforward because there is actually a process around which
you can organize your efforts. It is challenging because much like the rethinking that
occurs when applying social media in pure marketing applications, applying social
technologies at a business level may require a redesign of the business itself.

Review of the Main Points

The tips and best practices covered in this chapter are summarized in the points that
follow. Get these things right and you’re on your way to a solid implementation of
social technology in business.

• Listen, collaborate, and measure. These are the three fundamental practices that
lead to successful implementations of social technology in a business context. By
listening first, knowledge about the current conversations can be shared with the

198 larger organization, making collaboration between the business and its custom-
ers easier to implement. By always looking for metrics, and thinking though how
they are applied, the actual results can be evaluated in the same terms as any
other business project.

• Don’t shy away from social media and social technology because it’s scary.
Instead, follow the three essential practices of listening, collaborating, and
measuring.

• Don’t limit your view of social media to marketing. The root causes of the con-
versations that drive the success of your firm or organization are often outside
of marketing. Trying to use the Social Web effectively without cross-functional
support is like bringing a spoon to a gun fight. It’s not going to turn out well.

Hands-On: Review These Resources

Review each of the following, and ensure that you have a complete understanding of
how social media and social technology is used.

Threadless

http://www.threadless.com

Foursquare (You will need an account with Foursquare and a GPS-capable
phone or similar hand-held device for this.)

http://foursquare.com

HARO

http://www.helpareporter.com