Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Introduction to Social Media Strategy


Blogging, Podcasting, Video, Microblogging (Twitter, Plurk, Tumblr), Forums all help facilitate communication, being out there can help you get ahead in business and keep up with the “online & active”.

It is important to note that setting social media strategy and defining a space should not be seen as a tactical solution, rather it requires ongoing nurturing and development to become a long – term fertile ground for developing new members and fans. Networking online is similar to building human relationships they do take time and sometimes can require some patience.

Networks are also about sharing, you need to give yourself time to share your content and comment back on others.

Rocktime advise clients to listen to their target market first before setting social strategy, through this listening you may identify new social avenues which perhaps without the knowledge you may not have considered.

Social networking insights can not only help you build on your networks of interaction but can also help you deliver new tools for your customers on real time recommendations. The review of your social landscape and projection of ideas form part of what Rocktime define as “Social Media Tool Kit”.

Success of social strategy can be defined both qualitatively and quantitatively, not only how many people interact with social media but what impact it had on them.

The simplest measure of success is the number of people who become members, who are following you, and where applicable who have downloaded a badge or widget. These figures can then be cross referenced with page views to give an indication of ‘stickiness’ or how long the site held the user’s attention. Comments and other contribution allow us to monitor participation rates.

Rocktime offer ongoing maintenance and management of social media to a number of clients & industries, talk to us to find out more.

There are many social media sites within the social media landscape, industry predicts more niche networks will appear as popularity of social networking increases. Rocktime help their clients follow these trends and help manage connections between these networks.

Seeding and promotion is a crucial element in generating interest around your social media approach. There are a number of seeding opportunities, but most importantly, we need to take you where the audience currently are.

Rocktime can provide your company with the below:

Review of your companies or product current social landscape

Provision of advice on how social media can help your company to achieve their goals & manage their reputation

During an initial three month period, assist you and your colleagues to understand the connections between the various social networks

Provide recommendations for social future & social marketing plans by identifying new areas in which you can join in with the conversation and how to find people to join in the conversation with you.

If you want to find out more about setting social media strategy or social networking strategy then please do call Rocktime and ask to speak to Sarah, or catch up with her on Twitter @sarahgriffiths