Five Steps to Organic Social Media in 2011

It’s fascinating to watch the explosion in online social media … terrific examples of social media propelling companies and messages to prominence while, on the other hand, the proliferation of so-called “social media gurus” who boast of 279 followers on Twitter and don’t have a clue how it all works.

I’m in awe of trend-setters – like Tony Hsieh of Zappos and David Pogue of the New York Times – who really know the key importance of listening to their audiences, using all the tools of social media and taking the time from their busy schedules to personally get involved and interact.

On the other hand, countless organizations advertise to hire a “social media expert,” generally one entry level person to handle all of the company’s social media outreach. That’s an approach doomed from the start.

Successful social media in 2011 – the use of social media that captures the spotlight for companies, organizations, issues and people – is going to be more of the Hsieh/Pogue style … organic and authentic.

Teamwork

For an organization to seek social media prominence in 2011, it will need to be an internal team effort with everyone involved. Yeah, that means everyone … everyday … from the CEO or Executive Director on down the org chart to you and me. And, this is important … a company must permit reasonable time for employees to boost their organization through social media.

1. Facebook – If a company wants visibility on Facebook, it must create a meaningful Facebook page that’s interesting and engaging … and the company must ask each employee to spend a few minutes each day sharing something on that Facebook page. Employees, in turn, must encourage friends, colleagues and vendors to get involved in the Facebook page.
2. Twitter – Same approach as with Facebook. Create a cacophony of voices on Twitter to build awareness for your news or what’s on your mind.  It’s not just one “official” Twitter account but many.
3. Email – Every email signature at a company must contain Facebook and Twitter links … as well as to the organization’s news site, if it has one. Email signatures can make for terrific collateral promotion.
4. Digg, StumbleUpon, Flickr, YouTube, etc. – Social media is a galaxy of online tools, many of them increasingly powerful. Become expert with at least a half dozen of them, especially using video to tell your story.
5. Bloggers – For any industry, issue, subject or business sector, there are bloggers looking for things to write about. Friend bloggers in 2010. If you are in a tech field, friend bloggers who write about your industry. If you are in the food industry, friend bloggers who cover your part of the food industry. Bloggers are amazingly easy to contact, and blogging in general is having increased influence on news, perceptions and issues online.

Let me note that this team approach to social media will deliver a better quality of audience engagement, greater understanding of the competitive landscape and a better investment of time than simply hiring one of the many guru start-ups that focus on numbers and rarely dwell on quality … and ultimately may not have any better savvy about social media than you.

Winners will be differentiated from losers in 2011 by how effectively individuals, companies and organizations understand and use social media. It’s never been about promoting or marketing but rather engaging, listening and conversations. The outfit that makes it a team effort will win.

Related posts:

1. How to Learn Social Media – First Steps
2. Rules of Social Media
3. Social Media’s Extraordinary Leaders
4. Is Social Media a Mile Wide, Inch Deep?
5. How to Bring Focus to Online Social Media

Tags: David Henderson, Featured, News Group Net LLC, News Strategies

Category: Featured, Social Media