Whether you are about to venture into Social Media or have an established presence you should consider the following:

  1. ‘Listen’ and monitor key relevant groups/forums to see what is being said about you, your products etc.
    15 Free Social MediaMonitoring Tools >>


  2. Online brand mapping & social web analysis
    Do an audit and gap analysis on your stated proposition/products and what people are actually saying.


  3. Find someone internally (or hire part time, get a student) with the right ‘conversational skills’
    Probably someone who’s already doing this personally or professionally.
    "Nail this new conversational skill better than competitors and amplify your positive conversations and advocates’ comments better than your competition."


  4. Set up Twitter accounts for your brand / branded products or services
    Might as well register - it is free, before someone registers your name.
    Use it for customer service and/or promos if nothing else.

    “Brands use Twitter effectively by approaching the process as a hybrid of customer service and marketing”.
    Biz Stone, Co-founder, Twitter.


  5. Set up a profile on just one social network
    …the most relevant to your market e.g. Facebook, MySpace, Bebo etc. and experiment.


  6. Set up LinkedIn company profile
    7. especially if you have corporate customers, or are B2B.

  7. Blog on your site
    e.g. from buyers, product specialists, customer service.


  8. Forum
    9. …even if not on your site and only for customer service e.g. http://getsatisfaction.com

  9. Ratings & Reviews
    Even if done “manually” by sending emails to customers for feedback or even if staff reviews.
    Even if only implied ‘review’ for social persuasion power e.g. ‘Other people who have viewed / purchased this product’.
    Or by pulling through comments automatically:
    “I predict that in 2010, a big trend will be automated re-posting of reviews to leading retailers' sites. e.g. Sony will take a review on their site and it will be posted to the correct page on Amazon, Buy.com and eBay automatically all at once. Unless retailers specifically rule it out.”

    And don’t forget to use online-gathered customer feedback in offline promotions (DM, point of sales, ads, catalogues etc.).


  10. Measure it properly…
    10 ways to measure social media success
    15 Free Social Media Monitoring Tools
    2 easy ways to track social networks in Google Analytics (Econsultancy)
    MyFaceLinkTwitBook: Boosting Conversion with Social Networks (Omniture)
    Social Media Ad Metrics Definitions (IAB U.S.)

For more information on social media, call or email us: 09 889 8020 or results@steer.co.nz

Social Media Resources

Top 10 Social Media Tactics >>
15 Free Social Media Monitoring Tools >>
Top 10 Links for Social Media Optimisation >>
Key Social Media Questions >>
The Future of Social Media >>
How to promote your business on Twitter >>
The Value of Social Media for Online Retailers >>
How to Approach Social Media >>