Posts Tagged ‘Rate of return’

Dec
30

If you didn’t like social media in 2009, you’ll hate 2010

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

Last year I traveled the country sharing the idea that current social media platforms are the training wheels for how we will do business in the future.  Collaboration is our future.  Social media will eventually affect us all —  like it or not.

It didn’t take long. Halfway through the year, Google came out with Wave, which is a real-time collaboration tool.

Social media has actively worked its way into our lives with up-to-date information, networking opportunities and amazing smart-phone applications.

Those who still don’t get social media may think it’s about posting what they ate for breakfast, or participating in Farmville on Facebook, or looking for the direct return on investment (ROI), or are still afraid people will steal their images and know too much about them.

Are you going to be left behind in 2010?

Unless you live in a cave, by the end of  2010 social media will touch everyone’s life. We will see more real- time applications. Search engines will become more dependent on relevant updates supplied by the social media. More companies will demand collaboration using these tools.

Smart phones will become the standard phone of choice. Smart applications within these phones will help their owners find what they are looking for virtually and in real life. Social media will offer the facts and opinions to support people’s final decisions.

Tools such a Foursquare will help people become more connected, develop better relationships and become more social.

We’ve had hints of what is to come with Tweetups, unconferences and BarCamps. These activities are going to move beyond the geek world.  More people will be untethered from their office computer screens. The opportunity to connect with more people in new ways will amaze us.

In 2010, more of your clients and prospects will be available to you. Editors, marketing directors and creative directors want to meet you — if you are respectful. People would like to refer you —  if only they knew a little more about you. Your current clients might refer more work if they had the opportunity to know more about your abilities.

The tools are here.  Are you?

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Nov
27

Don’t force social media

Friday, November 27th, 2009

One of the biggest problems people have with new communication technology is they try to force it into their current workflow or methods of doing business.

A classic example of this is business owners trying to use hard marketing techniques in the social media realm.  Some creative people make it work, but the majority fail.

Others see the shiny new technology and change their marketing plans to fit the new platforms.  Unfortunately, they often leave behind and neglect marketing strategies that were working for them.

Social media is its own line item in the list of marketing concepts worthy of consideration for growing your business.

Don’t force social media into other strategies.  In many cases social media can play a supporting role for other marketing methods, but ultimately it is best to develop a social media goal.

What do you want to accomplish with social media? Is social media the best tool to achieve your goal?

If your goal is to drive traffic to your Web site on a mass scale in order to sell a product, then e-mail marketing might be a better solution.

If you wish to develop yourself as an expert in your field — social media would be an excellent choice as a tool to support your efforts.

Before social media, companies depended on public relations. They used PR to get the word out about their people’s expertise, new products, and service successes in the traditional media.  The problem many PR professionals faced was proving the direct ROI (return on investment) from their work.  Thus, many business professionals didn’t see the value.

If you are a by-the-numbers person, social media may not be for you.  Don’t jump on the bandwagon if you don’t see the compound value of social communications over time.  You can’t force it.

Rosh

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Jun
13

Social media is an endurance game

Saturday, June 13th, 2009

(Note: please forgive the unedited draft of this article released Friday evening)

mountainAlthough some are working this angle, social media is not about making a fast buck.  It’s about building trust and your reputation as an expert in your field.  Trust is not earned overnight. On the other hand, distrust and a bad reputation can develop quickly. 

Not everyone is cut out for the social media marathon.  It takes time and effort.  It is often a lonely game in the beginning. Submitting your first blog post, delivering your first tweet, or Facebook status update is usually met with the little fanfare.

As you network and make connections over time, you will gain followers.  If you offer quality, insightful and unique information people will refer you, share your content, and encourage others to become a part of your community.

Some people don’t have the patience.  They are sprinters. They charge out of the gate, knock on every door and invite every warm body that says yes into their community.  They gain numbers fast and work them hard. In the end, they don’t find the rewards they thought they would with such large numbers.  They don’t earn the results.

Social media is not about quantity; it’s about quality.  Winners earn both quality and quantity. Having a large following of people who trust and care about you is extremely powerful.

Once you get past a few plateaus and earn critical mass you will notice how your following will compound and your calls to action will be answered in greater numbers with positive results.

Fencing

Over time the competition will drop out of the race.  Yes, new people will fill their shoes, but you will have been promoted in the standings, gaining new followers and earning more trust.  Time will reward you with more influence.

The more power you have, the greater your responsibility.  If you earn a large following the temptation is to attempt to squeeze every bit of social media ROI (return on influence) into fast-cash ROI (return on investment).  This is the quickest way to lose trust and credibility with people you have worked so hard to earn.

Every social media platform has a different tipping point, or critical mass, in which your influence starts to carry a little weight.

The best method of gaining quality followers is to remember it’s about them.  Give, give and give some more.  It can take months or years to reach your goals, but that is why social media is a long-term project.

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Apr
3

Automating your relationships

Friday, April 3rd, 2009

money

I find it tempting to sign up for those automated social media programs that claim to free you from the time and energy wasted on repetitive social tasks. But, before I press that button, I remind myself that my hard-earned followers and relationships are too important to automate and abuse.

Moneymaking through social relationships doesn’t run on autopilot. I recently replied to an automated DM (direct message) about a “great opportunity” to make money on Twitter. My return message read:  “Sorry, not interested. My Twitter relationships are too valuable.”

Sadly, the person I responded to most likely doesn’t care. This is precisely the problem and why I don’t follow that person anymore.  You can make money with hard marketing techniques in social media. I figure 1 to 2 percent of the people following you on Twitter will see and act upon each “call to action” Tweet. If you have 1,000 people following you,  about 20 people might react. If you have a great pitch, maybe one to four followers might convert.

Gaining 1,000 people in any social media platform is not easy. It usually takes time and trust. If you abuse that relationship, you will lose that trust and your effort will have been a waste of time.

Yes, you can manipulate your way to 10,000 people, but they are not people who care about you or what you have to offer. Often,  accounts responding easily to manipulation are automated themselves, so all you have are robots responding to other robots.

The best ROI (usually meaning Return on Investment)  in social media is best stated as Return on Influence: building the trust of your followers and friends. That influence, like any power,  can be long lasting and will offer greater rewards.

The next time you consider the easy money, think about the worth of the people you influence. What is the value of trust?  How much more will it cost you to gain it back?

Rosh

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