Social media for business; articles of interest

Alex Zagoumenov — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:02:05 +0000

In regular conversations with our clients I keep hearing that Social Media is a fad and they are not ready to participate. Most of the time the reason is the buzz created around the concept of social media as something extremely new. In reality, social media is the same old way of doing business but with new tools and opportunities for businesses large and small.

This post features a couple of recommended readings in plain English that should clarify (read as simplify) the use of social media by businesses.

What tools are being used the most?

Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

Facebook, the largest social media network, recently reached 300 million users worldwide — roughly the population of the United States. So do your homework before you approach your customers online. Here’s how users on the top social media sites broke down by age in August 2009.
View the graphs and original post at BNET.com

What should you keep in mind when promoting social media in your company?

Eight Ways to Ruin Your Social-Media Strategy

So you’ve set up a company fan page on Facebook and you’re letting your employees fire off messages to the world via Twitter — or you’re at least thinking about it. Well, congratulations! You’re part of the social-media revolution, which can offer unparalleled access to word-of-mouth buzz among those you most want to reach: your customers, current and future.

Mistake 1: Pretend you can do without it
Mistake 2: Play down the costs
Mistake 3: Act like you own the conversation
Mistake 4: Fear empowering your employees
Mistake 5: Assume you have little to learn
Mistake 6: Take negative feedback personally
Mistake 7: Fret about return on investment
Mistake 8: Underestimate the power of seemingly small efforts

Read details on each mistake and the entire article at BNET.com

Stop Looking for the Next Twitter

… if you’re in the trenches of an organization, my advice is to stop acting like or listening to pundits. Stop looking for the next Twitter. Why? It’s simple—because the odds are you already have plenty of projects and ideas with proven potential that you need to improve on without worrying about the next thing you’ll start. Here are a few thought-starters based on observations I’ve made about all of “yesterday’s Twitters” that need some care and feeding before you start looking for the next Twitter. Perhaps some may hit close to home for you…

Your Website
Your Blog
Your Intranet
Your Facebook, Twitter, Community Initiatives etc.