Social Media: Who’s getting it?
April 2, 2009 by Deborah Crooks
Earlier this week, our editorial board mulled the question of who in the wild west of social media really got it. Before we give you the results of our Social Media Buyers Guide survey (to be unveiled in full at Friday’s Web 2.0 event), we wanted to share with you tips from our readers on how to tell a social media vendor fully understood the form:
- GlobeHop: Vendors that get social media are the ones who can break out of the lingo and use plain speak to tie it into client’s business goals.
- hifivelounge: Important to be able to talk simply and clearly about SM without resorting to buzz words. Also value in humility and perspective.
- hifivelounge: @Kimber_Regator that can happen with “experts”. We like to listen first & learn from a client as we roll up the sleeves….
- GraemeThickins: “How do you know your vendor understands social media?” I say if they don’t ask, “Why would you share your knowledge on Twitter?”
- Francine Hardaway offered up some other tips on vetting your vendor to see if they truly understanding social media: “Do you see your vendor on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, other social sites? That’s the bare minimum. Read your vendor’s blog or his Tumblr, or his comments on the blogs of others. Is s/he a valuable member of his/her community? Engaged? Respected? Thoughtful? Social media is a very quickly evolving space, and new tools come out every day. Does your vendor evaluate them? Write about them? Understand what they do? Only after you’re sure your vendor is actually a user of social media do you ask the questions you would ask of any marketing consultant.”
- And finally, SMC Board Member Kimberly Turner found a wealth of posts on the topic, as well as offering up her view: “What I do know for sure is that too many corporations tend to forget the “social” aspect of social media and treat it like just another way to broadcast their rigid message into the universe. I also know that you should not only look at a vendor’s previous results but also make sure that their approach will work well with your company’s individual goals.”
What do you think? Help us keep the conversation going and send us your thoughts AND your questions.
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I totally agree, most companies do not understand the meaning of “social media” which will only confuse and frustrate them in why this branding resource isn’t a value tool for them.
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We found that the ones who get it are the ones who saw either a competitive advantage or a competitive threat. In other words if an executive understood that he gets the customer opinion on a silver plate and can react faster to achieve a higher degree of mindshare and therefor more business will begin to get active.
However more executives are concerned to keep at best status quo, cut cost, and simply survive. For those only the competitive threat is a motive to do something. If they see that a competitor is stealing one customer after the other and understand why and how – they move.
The Mindshare Report that was created by our students as a study was an instant success. It turned a lot of heads in just 48 hours after it was released. You can download an executive summary with all the necessary details: http://www.Socialmedia-academy.com/research Also we run a free webinar on the 24th – in part about that very topic – social media for corporations.
@AxelS
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Thanks for article. Web 2.0 = Social Internet