Strap yourself in, this is going to be quite a ride!
As it is tradition -- and super requested by many -- this is my annual recap of the most dialed in conversations of the year. As we progress through them, you will see how they're all somehow connected to the same thread.
Did we do what we said we would?
2010 - the Year to Make Social Media Operational
Don't hoard knolwedge. Use, share, teach, learn, and move your business forward. Find inspiration in some of these posts, by month:
____________________
We started the year by thinking about direction. Where will marketing go in 2009? 11 very generous thinkers and doers gave us their take. Download the free eBook here. How did we do?
We all know that in order to get our customers attention, we need to become better at showing our appreciation for their business. Here are 3 ways to show your customers you appreciate their business. Being able to execute often means becoming a change agent. Leonardo da Vinci was a change agent, are you?
And we learned what magnificent results a completely integrated marketing campaign with social media brings, see Obama's social media campaign. Now will we see social as an implementation that actually transforms the Government's operations?
____________________
Every company at the moment wants and needs it, we have a whole economic system addicted to it. How can you reinvent the customer relationship to drive growth? Experimenting with the tools was fun.
You're on Twitter, now what? Get used to the fact and contribution and connection are the new currency. Internal collaboration is also how big brands can start testing social media.
____________________
Your customers are the vital part of your business. We explored the top ten reasons why your customers are being difficult. What does the adoption of social media mean for many of the disciplines under the marketing communications umbrella? Let's take a look at micro interactions in PR.
We spend so much time online, are we transferring that knowledge in real life? Here are 7 things I learned online that I use at work. And if you truly want to know, here's how to really kick ass. You'll need that primer to discover why blog and 25 ways to make it work in this free eBook.
____________________
This was a month full of great questions and examples. We started off strong with 50 content ideas that create buzz, and outlined the top ten reasons why your content marketing strategy fails. In between, we made the case for customer communities, and looked at a Monsters, Inc. move at Domino's.
Well, then since social media has become such a legitimate channel for business, we discussed when is it a good idea to include bloggers in your media outreach? A very valid question still today, when I get dozens of irrelevant press releases.
____________________
The truth is that companies need to learn how to answer the social phone. Implementing for social attention, also means that you need to remember you're writing for end users, you always were.
Let's get a bit more tactical and figure out what are the 3 things you should know before starting a blog. You know it, execution is key to results.
____________________
Not every company should have blogs. In fact, I outlined top ten reasons why your company should not have a blog. Read them carefully. On the other hand, if you're the right kind of group of people, there are ways to blog at work if you don't have a blog.
Are you guilty of these 7 sins of customer service? it's not as easy than 1-2-3, but look into the 3 steps to mapping the customer journey and let me know how it goes.
____________________
Is your company thinking that social media is a job? Because, technically, it isn't. Even for free, there is a right place, right time. This was quite the interblog and publication discussion with many known names participating - Chris Anderson, Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin, and more. Dig in!
The rebalancing act of resources came when we talked about 100 thoughts on marketing. If you're thinking what I think you are - too much, how do we even begin? - I'll tell you that the answer to how is yes. So for example, how to you find 5 areas of integration to go from customer conversation to conversion?
____________________
Lots of acquisitions and consolidations, as well as failures, in the social tools space this year. A good reminder of how social media is like sharecropping. Social
media is a wonderful and productive outreach for many companies. But
like any investment, it is not without its risk.
When immersed and on board, being helpful is the new black. Given that good karma and a human touch do help a lot, are you hiring the right public relations candidates? We are, all of us, work in progress.
____________________
Corporate social media means going from macro to micro, with all the brand implications you can think about. So prepare for it. Or, you could be that company that uses 5 straw men arguments to take a pass on social media.
We discussed also why B2B companies have a distinct advantage online. This works especially if you have a complex product or service. Finally, you're on board with blogging, how do you develop a blog content strategy?
____________________
You decide to do it, you create a strategy, now how do you write content for the buyer's decision journey? Part of it will be providing a platform, a common space for your customers and prospects to have a dialogue with each other and you. NASDAQ rolled out a community site, which might end up becoming a solid B2B case study.
Connected does not mean only on the outside. What does the connected company look like on the inside? How do you get the message out? Although its origin was there, PR is not propaganda.
____________________
You can see that we're already on our way to making what we learned by implementing operational inside the organization. There is a relationship between Twitter, customer service and good brand management. The other very interesting application is Twitter lists. Are they a new MSM-type content channel?
And while we're on the topic of lists, learn about lists, permission, and content marketing. Value comes from content. When you are developing a B2B content strategy, start with who. When you're implementing a B2B content strategy, consider how.
____________________
Developing and implementing is all well and good. Now do you know how to go about measuring the performance of your social media communications? Marketers and communicators have been talking about social media all year, and many are now fully aware that you cannot do social media without the support of the organization.
This will help us bridge to what's awaiting next year - social media becomes operational. Download the free eBook for Marketing in 2010.
***
By now you should have guessed it. We have been building applications for making social media operational, second nature, part of how the company communicates and interacts to do business.
Happy New Year!
________
Past years:
My 12 Best Marketing Conversations of 2007
How Many Bloggers Does it Take to Change a Light Bulb?
_________
© 2006-2009 Valeria Maltoni. All rights reserved.
Comments