Sorry, you children of the sixties…the answer to this question is NOT “absolutely nothing,” despite what you might be singing to yourselves now.

Listen to any marketing, PR, HR or customer service consultant these days, and they will tell you that social media is the wave of the future. You better get on board, because your competitors (and, more importantly, your customers) are! They’ll trot out case studies of companies that “get” social media - Whole Foods, Ford, Comcast - and point to them as self-evident examples of the absolute importance of social media in the strategy of any organization.

But if you really want to see a social media “evangelist” sweat, just ask him/her, “Why?”

Why does social media matter?

What can it do for my organization?

How will it help me make money?

First of all, let’s frame expectations. Social media is not the be-all, end-all miracle cure that some people make it out to be. Traditional tools for marketing, customer service and HR are vital and social media is not a replacement for them.

Here’s what social media does EXTREMELY well, when applied correctly: it helps companies build brand awareness and strengthen brand loyalty.

Tools like corporate blogs, Facebook and Twitter enable companies to connect with their customers - and when companies offer compelling content (exclusive discounts/offers, or even news and product announcements), their customers broadcast that content to the members of their network. Some marketers call that “viral marketing,” and that’s basically what it is - content getting passed from person to person until millions of people have watched the goofy video of the guy blending his iPhone.

These tools also help organizations foster loyalty among their customers by helping them feel “connected.” People who are “fans” of an organization on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter, feel invested in that organization and have essentially opted-in to receiving personal, relevant communications (NOT just marketing messages).

And, when they follow or become fans of an organization, they know there’s a real person behind those communications they receive. This is especially helpful if a company (*cough Comcast cough*) has a negative customer service history. In an article in the New York Times, a Comcast customer said,

“It’s one thing to spit vitriol about a company when they can’t hear you…I immediately backed down and softened my tone when I knew I was talking to a real person.”

So…if you want a relatively low-cost way to build awareness of your brand, while establishing direct lines of communication with your customers and improving their perception of your organization (and by extension strengthening their brand loyalty)…THATis what social media is good for.

Everyone knows that Web 2.0 is the Next Big Thing. Social web sites are growing at an explosive rate and they already impact the way we do many things – how we get our news, network, or do marketing and public relations. Everyone knows they need to get on the Web 2.0 bandwagon, ASAP.

 

But what does that mean? Where do you start? How do you make sense of all that’s going on out there? How do you pick the best options for you and your business? What are the pitfalls? How do you clear the fog of social media, and make Web 2.0 a significant part of your marketing mix?

 

What is Web 2.0?

 

Web 2.0 is a term coined by Tim O’Reilly to describe the latest trends in Internet technology. Web 2.0 applications are aimed at enhancing creativity, making it easier to share information and collaborate, and increase the overall functionality of the Web. Ross Mayfield observed that Web 1.0 was about commerce, while Web 2.0 is about people.

 

Web 2.0 includes blogs, mashups, podcasts, social bookmarking sites, wikis, social networking, and more. Some of these tools can prove useful to you in your business and networking activities. Not all of them are appropriate for every business; but they can, as part of an overall marketing mix, help businesses find and reach target markets, differentiate themselves from the competition, reach customers more quickly and share and collaborate with partners, vendors, customers, and others.

 

It’s a big world out there

Inside CRM (www.insidecrm.com) ran an article this year titled “50 Social Sites That Every Business Needs a Presence On.” Is summarizes sites in the categories of social media/social bookmarking, professional networking, niche social media, general social media and job sites. Some you’ve no doubt heard of, like LinkedIn and Twitter. Others might be new to you. There are no doubt many other sites that have come on line since the article was published.

 

Perhaps our initial response to this article is best summarized by a reader comment posted by a user named Martin: “Great list, but I need to move somewhere in the world where a day is 34 hours. Can you help?” Indeed, like any other activity in your marketing mix, you can spend hours and hours on social media web activities. Worse yet, you can spend a lot of time and produce very little return.

 

The best approach, if you don’t have several clones of yourself or a large corporate staff who can devote every waking hour to a social media campaign, is straightforward. Divide and conquer. Start small – perhaps with just one site. Then add other sites to your mix, if the payoff you are seeing from your initial efforts supports more investment in the social media world.

 

Join and participate in online communities that make sense for you and your business. Be sure to pick sites that you actually enjoy being a part of – or assign a staff member who enjoys regularly participating as a representative of your business (just be sure to lay down some ground rules about appropriate behavior – see below).

 

Take particular note of the “participate” part – if you just register and log in once in a blue moon, you won’t see results. No connections, no contribution, no impact on your business. However, if you contribute, the payoff is two-fold – you help others, and you establish yourself as an expert. Something is better than nothing, and consistency is your friend.

 

Opportunities, challenges and pitfalls

Web 2.0 gives individuals and businesses a great opportunity to connect to and target relevant audiences as never before. You can reach out to your area, your state, across the country and around the globe. You can improve your search engine ranking, and drive traffic to your site.

 

In the public relations arena, especially, the interactive nature of Web 2.0 in general and social media, in particular, has opened up a whole new dimension when it comes to public relations. The precise, targeted way that stories can be shared, relationships forged and awareness built has many PR agencies creating social media practices and small businesses embracing the grassroots power that this new landscape gives to them.

 

However, there are some dirty little secrets when it comes to the world of social media marketing. One, discussed above, is that you can easily get overwhelmed by trying to do too much. There are plenty of sites out there that are not relevant to you and your business, and it’s important to recognize that. Facebook or YouTube might be a fit, but they are not for everybody. By focusing on selected, high-value sites, communities and activities that stand to create a return on the time you invest, you create a strong foundation to build on and can expand from there.

 

Likewise, don’t set yourself up for extra work by trying to participate in multiple sites that provide the same functionality. A big challenge is sampling or auditing the sites available that hope to cater to a particular community or service. There is a lot of overlap and redundancy out there. You wouldn’t necessarily do two or three times the work to log all your networking contacts into multiple contact management packages –choose the one that works best for you.

 

We’ve all learned the lesson that websites come and go with the whims of the market and venture capital funding. It seems clear that as trends emerge and markets are created and fall out of favor, websites that speak to those concerned with those trends and markets will come and go, as well. The web presents the opportunity, though, to create new sites and new communities based on the issue of the moment. If you can’t find a site that speaks to your market or issue, you can start it yourself.

 

Whether it be support for a particular political candidate, the effort to reunite a dog in Iraq with a U.S. soldier that had returned stateside, or the creation of a marketplace to connect green vendors or trade carbon credits, the nature of the web allows us not just to participate in the communities of our choice, but in some cases create the community that we and others have been seeking.

 

Another thing no one likes to talk about is that for every high-traffic blog, or every YouTube video series that catches on like wildfire, there are many more that have few visitors or viewers, and maybe none. There might be eight million stories in the naked city, but there are millions more blogs on the Web, and there are countless blogs that have been abandoned due to lack of interest by their creator or a lack of readers.

 

Ghost blogs aside, the worst thing you can do is damage to your reputation by not following the guidelines, expectations or user agreement that covers a particular site, or violating ethical considerations when it comes to your online activities. A legitimate distance education school found itself in hot water in recent years because an employee of the company registered and posted to forums covering the industry while posing as a student. When you operated in an industry filled with fly-by-night operations, you already have an uphill battle, and shooting yourself in the foot is the last thing you want to do.

 

The assumption of anonymity on the web sometimes creates a false sense of protection when the temptation to do something like this arises. However, for those who understand the technology, it can be relatively simple to track back the source of misleading posts using simple tools. Whether done with the clear message that you are a staff member of your company, or while foolishly trying to hide your affiliation, any misstep can quickly undo all of your hard work, and do significant damage to your reputation.

 

Participation Guidelines

It’s important to think through the goals and objectives you want to accomplish by participating in social media. It’s even more important to observe some guidelines while doing so that may seem obvious or common sense; but don’t take the chance that someone representing your company might do your organization harm by engaging in rude or unethical behavior while representing the company online.

 

Some guidelines to start the discussion include:

1. Be honest and transparent – don’t hide your identity or affiliation.

2. Be respectful, courteous, professional and well-mannered – don’t engage in arguments, offer constructive feedback.

3. Establish your credibility by sharing your credentials and experience and contributing where you can be of assistance to others.

4. Recognize others’ expertise, and give them opportunities to contribute to the discussion.

5. Don’t overstep your bounds – if you don’t know, say so; if there’s a potential for conflict of interest, reveal it.

6. Leverage your efforts and be consistent – tie your participation to other online and offline efforts.

7. Remember where you come from – you did not always know all you now know.

8. Be a positive role model – remember, you are an ambassador for your organization.

 

Can you see clearly now?

So, now you should have an idea about how to find out what part of Web 2.0 is likely to give you the best bang for your buck. You should also be aware that if you don’t choose your area of focus carefully, you risk spinning you wheels and wasting a lot of time, effort and money.

 

Don’t allow yourself to get overwhelmed. Consider starting with just one site or community, and monitor the return on your investment into that one outlet. Add more if the effort is justified. Choose communities that make sense for your business, and actively participate on a consistent basis.

 

Pick unique sites based on what they offer, and preview sites that provide similar capabilities, choosing the one that is best for you. If no website exists to serve the community you wish to reach, consider starting one yourself.

 

Finally, follow the rules of the site(s) you decide to participate in, and behave yourself.