It is ever-important for us to continue to learn about and decide how to reach this new audience. Experimentation is a must, and through that experience we will be able to find out what works — and what doesn’t. Tracking our activity and the response of our audience to each action allows us to really see the impact of what we do online.
But, Solis stresses this point:
Just because we have access to these social media tools doesn’t mean we have something interesting to say!
By no means is it OK to post fake reviews, fake blogs or any intentional misrepresentation. These are found out very quickly!
The way social media is influenced (in order):
Customer Service, Communications, Branding, Marketing
For instance, an incident occurs, the organization has a listener to find out about it at which point customer service and communications are the most important responding forces.
We must find a way to keep our audience engaged and compelled. Did you know that YouTube is the second most popular online search engine? More people are going there to search for content – only second behind Google – looking for something to share. Everything begins with search, so we have to make sure that we show up where it matters! On every single social media site, the most important way to find the information we need is the search function!
Instead of using Twitter search, use a service called Collecta. It will bring every tweet as it happens, any blog post, any Flickr image and YouTube video straight to you in real time!
Use a service called Backtype to find information in the comments sections of blogs and other social media – this is where people talk! This allows us to find out what the general public – not just the blogger – is saying.