his past Wednesday I had one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
At 2pm I received a call from producer, Jason Hartelius at Fox. He was producing a story, and was interested in getting my opinion regarding social media – wow. “Chris, can you be here by 6:30pm”…uhm, yes, of course.
Last year I spent a phenomenal three days at the Web 2.0 conference. While there I had the opportunity to hear from Bob Buch of Digg. Bob said something that stuck with me, and I believe still resonates today:
“Social Media is the ultimate Bullshit meter.”
The perfect storm of social media engagement entails having an appropriate brand presence on Facebook. There’s no way to avoid 500million active users. So before we delve into our seven steps, you must first take the plunge and create a Facebook Page for your brand.
Now that you have a page, and perhaps a few fans. What’s the next step?
Here are seven that will guide you to success:
Last week I added a post that’s received significant traffic via Social Media Today. After the post went live, I received a fantastic comment from Dan Perez. His well thought out response and the banter that ensued resides on Social Media Today, however I think it’s worth re-posting here:
I love Bret Michaels. There, I said it. Back in 1988 I was into all kinds of heavy metal and hard rock. I loved Metallica, Gun’s and Roses, Whitesnake, Skid Row, Motley Crue, Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne the list goes on. Essentially the louder and more testosterone charged the music, the more I loved it.
Dear Brand Manager,
Social media can be a scary, fragmented experience, I get it. The Social Media ecosystem is already alive and well, and whether you like it or not, social media is already “happening” to your brand. People are Tweeting about your product, adding Facebook statuses about your services, and generally talking about you to their friends. It’s our job to figure out what the general energy of that dialogue is (positive, or negative) and help you become a part of the conversation.
An appropriate Facebook page may have a huge impact on your brand equity. It can also backfire in a horrible way. Similarly Twitter chatter can propel your brand to national accolades, or can potentially land you in the hot seat.
About a year ago I met with a luxury watch manufacturer that I love. I say I” love” them because I own one of their watches, and it holds huge sentimental value for me. I approached the company with the idea that if I could speak to the decision makers I would most certainly convince them that if it were done properly, they could leverage the awesome power of Facebook and Twitter to change the game of selling luxury watches. Connect with brand advocates like myself, I told them, and you’ll tap into a community that will do the marketing for you. Offer them the tools to communicate how much they love you, and they’ll have a field day.