Social Media (especially when combined with Online PR) is the hottest thing to hit marketing, PR and advertising since TV. But many business organisations are finding that it is not the magic bullet that has been hyped.
It’s a bit like the blues harp (or ten hole harmonica to you non blues folk). It looks enticingly easy to play but it is very hard to play well.
Many businesses are only now thinking about jumping in. But when it comes to Social Media you should paddle about before you dive. The best piece of Social Media advice for business that I have come across in a long time is contained in a new posting from the Washington Post*. Basically, you should not do too much at once.
I was that soldier. I am on LinkedIn. At the beginning, like a junkie in a headshop, I joined every group that was relevant from Social Media and PR to technology and cloud computing. Guess what? My email in box became swamped with so many discussions that I ended up ignoring them all.
It is much better to join one or MAXIMUM two that interest you and participate fully by starting and joining in discussions. Assign other members of your firm to follow one or two relevant groups and participate.
Similarly with blogs. Blogs have a key role to play in boosting your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and thought leadership. However, blogs are notoriously easy to initiate but hard to maintain. But you can start by contributing to others. One good example for B2B firms is our client’s O2’s Business Blog, The Ideas Room at www.O2.ie/ideasroom
* Source: Washington Post (free to subscribe) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/25/AR2010062504382.html?sub=AR