Here are some excellent words of advice from Doug Stephens, President of Retail Prophet Consulting, on how to get started with social media, If a Brand Falls in the Forest… The Power of Social Listening:
Start By Listening
What we hear much less of in discussions on social media is that listening is in fact the first best step that brands can take. No blogging, tweeting, Youtubing or updating… just listening. In fact, the power of social media as a listening tool closely rivals its benefits as a publishing tool.
Listen to the conversation that’s already taking place about your brand, product category or industry. You might be amazed at what you learn from the social echo…
Connecting with consumers in the social space is much like exploring the universe. Before you begin traveling into space, it’s important to know which of these social planets actually support life – and preferably life in the form of your target consumer. There’s no point in pouring time and effort into a Facebook initiative if most of your customers are interacting on Flickr. Secondly, you need to learn the language that’s being spoken on these planets before you attempt to converse within them. Nothing resonates less than the wrong message in a social network. Most importantly, you can gather a sense of what really matters to your consumers and what will capture their interest.
Along the way you’ll even develop familiarity with key influencers and voices of authority in the space – the people who can really help spread your message if you craft it properly. You’re also likely to build a sense of the consumer’s attitude toward your competitors which is always invaluable.
From Observation To Conversation
Once you develop a clear sense of the social networks where your customers are most active and learn what they seem to find most interesting, you’ll have a much clearer sense of the kind of content you need to develop to engage them. This will allow you to better calibrate the manpower required to develop it and approximate cost of your program. The basic awareness earned through listening puts the entire social media initiative in perspective and gives it a clearer sense of intent. Most importantly, with the insights you gather, the likelihood for a successful program increases exponentially.
The world really doesn’t need another blog, tweet or fan page. What it does need is valuable social interaction that informs, excites and engages.
Well said!
