Social Savvy

Social Media and Social Networking is at the heart of my VO Marketing plan (heh), and if you haven’t yet seen or visited, my friend Terry Daniel and I offer a resource site on Social Media techniques for voice-actors HERE.

Below, I’m repurposing a single page of content from a publication heralding the upcoming Affiliate Summit in NYC in a couple of weeks

(already sold out!). I’m not an affiliate marketer in the truest sense, but the successful ones are staunch apostles of good Social Networking techniques.

Lots of people claim an expertise in Social Media, but over time, you look for the ones that tend to make sense, have good referrals, and offer consistently good content. Brian Solis is certainly among those who fit that criteria.

He lists below 21 “Best Practices” to navigate almost any Social Media Platform. Do these, and reap the rewards!

CourVO

Social media is reinventing marketing, medications, and the dissemination of information. While businesses now have access to these rich channels, the true promise of social media lies in the direct connections between people who represent companies and the people who define markets of interest.

The devices we employ, the intentions that motivate engagement, and the value we offer dictate the significance of the brand specific social graphs we we gather. It’s a simple investment in either visibility or presence. In social media, just like the real world, presence is felt.

As social media continues to evolve, defining the “Rules of engagement” will encourage thoughtful interaction that benefits the business, brand, customers, peers, and prospects at every touch point.

The following is an outline of best practices to help you craft a practical set of rules to guide representatives as they engage:

1. Discover all relevant communities of interest and culture of the choices, challenges, impressions, and wants of the people within each network.

2. Participate where your presence is advantageous and mandatory don’t just in your own domains (Facebook rampage twitter conversations related to your brand, etc.).

3. Determine the identity, character, and personality of the brand and match it to the persona of the individuals representing it.

4. Establish a point of contact who is ultimately responsible for identifying, trafficking, or responding to all things that can affect brand perception.

5. As a customer service, representatives require training to learn how to respond in a variety of scenarios. Don’t just put the person familiar with social networking in front of the brand.

6. Embody the attributes you wish to portray ended still operate by a code of conduct.

7. Observe the behavioral cultures within each network and adjust your outreach accordingly.

8. Assess pain points, frustrations, and also those of contentment to establish meaningful connections.

9. Become a true participant in each community you wish to activate. Move beyond marketing and sales.

10. Don’t speak at audiences through canned messages. Introduce value, insight and direction but with each engagement.

11. Empower your representatives to offer rewards and resolutions.

12. Don’t just listen and placate — do something.

13. Ensure that any external activities are supported by a comprehensive infrastructure to address situations and adapt to market conditions and demands.

14. Learn from each engagement and provide a path within the company to adapt and improve products and services.

15. Consistently create, contribute, and reinforced service and value.

16 Earn connections through collaboration and empower advocacy.

17. Don’t get lost in translation. And sure your dedication and intent is clear and that your involvement maps to business objectives.

18. Establish and nurture beneficial relationships online and in the real world.

19 “Un-campaign” and create ongoing programs that keep you connected to day-to-day engagement.

20. ”Un-market” by becoming a resource to your communities.

21. Give back, reciprocate, and recognize notable contributions from participants in your communities.

(Excerpt from engage, the complete guide for brands and businesses to build, cultivate, and measure success in the new web. It’s available online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or at a bookstore near you http://bit.ly/engageme)