Entering the New World of Social Media
So what's holding corporate marketers back? Well, first of all, it's still relatively new and I can see where fear can rule whenever you are starting something new. There are so many new tools. How should a corporate marketer build a social networking presence? How do you use blogs, communities, Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, podcasts and YouTube to effectively deliver your message?
"Establish your strategy first and then work on your execution," advises Lorrie Thomas, a Web Marketing Therapist and instructor at UCSB and UC Berkeley. Don't be paralyzed by analysis but certainly don't jump in without any forethought.
Let's start with blogging. According to Thomas, the six basic components of a blog strategy that corporations need to develop are:
- Will your blog be educational? About a niche subject? Geared for a specific target market, age, gender or enthusiast group? Themes do not have to encompass everything, just have a focus.
- Write down content ideas to help keep the content creative process intact or to publish to other writers who write for your blog for corporate consistency.
- The more you put out, the more they come. Use key phrases married together and strategically placed in headlines and links rather then key words scattered about the content.
- Marketing is all about building relationships, corporations will miss out on connecting directly with their current and prospective customers if they don't get real with social media.
