Tag Archives: social

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What Is Bottom Line Social Media?

by: Jamey Brown

This industry lends itself to a lot of fluff, talk and show. Naturally, social media is the combined worlds of imagery, writing and creative thinking. These are essential in not only social marketing, but branding as well (which we all know comes before anything else). But what does all this creative fluffiness do? What are the real results? And how do they actually happen? Below are a few Bottom Line Social Media points I’ve encountered so far.

- ROI can come in various forms. Don’t just think traditional here. Depending on your goals beforehand, engagement can be a form of ROI. And obviously, there is traditional ROI – those good ol’ greenbacks. Typically, the more engagement, the better your numbers will be. Before you are dead set on what kind of ROI you want in the end, make sure your goals are laid out correctly in the beginning phases.

- Consistency = growth. This is a bold statement, but I stand by it. Why am I so sure of this? Well, if best practices are in place and you are consistent and planned with your strategy and tactics, then your community will grow. Remember, growth takes time.

- Delegation is vital. This goes hand-in-hand with consistency because your team must know WHO is publishing and resourcing content. The Community Manager position is in high demand now, thus increasing its appeal and need for companies in all industries. Confusion with managing a community can be devastating because the brand/company message can be jumbled or worse, completely lost. Don’t let confusion be part of your social team. Delegate a specific Community Manager and potentially an Associate Community Manager who is part time. Make them the gatekeepers.

- Bonus: Best Practices. Make sure you have your brand’s social marketing best practices memorized and in line. Or better yet, do your research and write them yourself. Social media is an industry based in being able to constantly practice what your preach 24/7.

What are some other bottom line social media points you’ve learned?  

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Social Marketing Isn’t Branding

by: Jamey Brown

Social media is a touchpoint for marketing; it is not marketing, nor is it branding. Rinse that and repeat. So many people throw a hail mary with social media expecting it to be this saving grace that brings their brand or organization back to life (if it even needs it in the first place). Social media is an extension for your brand’s image and voice. Don’t ever ever ever try and brand yourself with social media. Your voice and message will fail because people will immediately detect your brand’s incoherent and inconsistent voice. Believe me, I have seen startups think social is the key to success and then their brand falls flat. Why? Because there was no brand in place prior to.

When I tell people social media is a touchpoint for brands, organizations etc. I sometimes get bug-eyed looks accompanied with “wait, isn’t that what you do for a living? What exactly do you do with your days if it just a touchpoint?” Well buckaroo, that little touchpoint is actually massive. There are infinite ideas, strategies and tactics that go into socializing a brand. And those tactics will not only fill up your day but swallow it whole.

Understand that branding and social are two very different things – think of them as peanut butter and jelly. Let social bring our your branding and allow it to flourish and gain reach, engagement and word of mouth. Just remember to make the divide between these two…always.

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Dear Young Social Marketer…

by Jamey Brown

Dear Young Social Marketer,

You are entering a world of conversation, clicks and CTR’s. Don’t be scared, if you do your research you will execute all of these things just fine. Social media is nearing its end of “the new way to market” and is becoming essential to how a brand markets its message and content. You must value time management, creativity and collaboration. If you have an ego problem then you can go ahead and check that at the door – no room for that in this industry. But guess what? You will have to learn how to deal with others who don’t value that. Hard? Very. Good experience? Like you wouldn’t believe.

Know that your days will be spent on a timer and that you will have to not only execute your creativity, but execute it at hyperspeed. Oh, and it has to be good. You will have to write, write and write some more. Content creation is fun, but wait till you sit down to a blank editorial calendar. Get the ink ready! You will enjoy the creativity, but you better love it enough to have days where ALL you do is brainstorm, brainstorm and brainstorm some more. Trust me, midday coffees will be your new best friend. And just when you think you are about to leave, you will have a “quick” stream of work come down the pike that has to be done by EOD.

Be ready to handle a lot of money that is not yours. You will be running multiple social campaigns that must have good CTR’s and engagement. Tell that to your friend who says, “uh, you play with Facebook and Twitter for work?” Don’t worry, they still won’t get it. Be prepared to be on the ground floor for live events that revolve around your social media pushes. You will have to be the most charming person in the room, while also being the best marketer in the digital space at the same time.

But you know what…

It’s all so worth it. When you see your social campaigns surpass their numbers. When you see twitter streams light up like Christmas trees. When people give you feedback that says, “wow, thank you.” At the end of the day you live for this. You are a connector. A creator. A marketer. A master linker between brand and consumer, bridging the two dimensional traditional gap with the three dimensional injection of the all powerful social media. So, pat yourself on the back Young Social Marketer and know that all good word-of-mouth starts with your passion for social media marketing.

Best,

@JamesonGBrown

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Connection vs. Conversation

by: Jamey Brown

I wrote a piece yesterday that discussed how Twitter can help spark genuine engagement with potential customers/brand zealots. After reading it over I really thought about what the differences were between connection and conversation. It’s a great example of comparing apples to oranges, and sometimes I think we get them confused. Below is a jot list of why they are different, but equally important.

 

 

 

 

- Connection is the first step. The first 50%. Conversation is the second step. The second 50%.

- They’re reciprocal. One cannot exist without the other.

- Connection means first contact. Conversation means further contact.

- Connection is the attention getter. Conversation is the sustainability of attention.

- Don’t connect and not converse. Don’t converse without connecting first.

- Connection means resonation. Conversation means discussion of resonation.

The next time you are on any social network and want to connect with other users (either for business or personal) remember the C squared relationship. If you don’t identify both of these, it will be hard to harness social networking…well, at least in the way you’d want it.