Is social media actually accomplishing anything? Yes, and here’s how you prove it to your boss.
eriksr on September 2nd, 2008
So, yeah, okay, like what’s the point of social media?
I mean, we are so busy rushing around and doing it that we never stop, take a look at ourselves, and see if we are actually accomplishing anything of value.
Well, those days are about to end. And they are about to end with a book called “Now is Gone: A Primer on New Media for Executives and Entrepreneurs” by Geoff Livingston and Brian Solis.
“Now is Gone” is loaded, just loaded with case studies, each one a gem of insight into social media and the value therein. Such as, for example, the now classic Budget Car Rental viral marketing campaign. The very first blog-exclusive campaign (it was promoted entirely through bloggers and blog advertising), the campaign delivered one million unique site visitors and more than 10 million page views. If that isn’t impressive enough, think about this. The Budget Car Rental blog had nearly 20 million blog advertising impressions at an average cost of 33 cents each. And it accomplished all this in just four weeks.
Then there is the study on how the White House is using social media to spread the word on their drug policies, how H&R Block is using Twitter, even how Goodwill used social media for some much-needed rebranding.
Fascinating stuff. And fascinating stuff just loaded with tips, ideas, and reasons why your boss should up your budget. Considerably.
I will let you go read the case studies yourself. http://nowisgone.com/case-studies/
But I want to leave you with the seven principles of successful community engagement from “Now is Gone.” Principles you might want to share with the, ahem, more traditional media types in your office.
- Do not try to control the message: People will talk about your company with or without you.
- Honesty, ethics and transparencies are musts.
- Participation within the community is marketing.
- Communication to audiences is an out-dated 20th Century concept
- Build value for the community
- Inspire your community with real, exciting information, not corporate propaganda.
- Intelligently manage your media forms (RSS, frequency, etc.) to build a stronger and more loyal community.
Now go forth and do that social media thang.
