Let’s Get Social

Social Media…Social Strategy…Social Technology. Web 2.0

 

While the online world explodes with new and interesting ways to connect and participate in social spaces, brands are sort of left scratching their heads trying to figure out how to get invited to the party.

 

First of all, let’s look at the broad definition and characteristics of social media on the Web today. It’s certainly about the power shift from corporation/brand to individual or groups of individuals that start to form communities of interest. Second, it is about the shift from read only, one-way information to a read/write, two-way conversation. This fosters customer/audience engagement, participation, conversation and collaboration. The more people use it, the better it gets.

 

Brands who are successfully engaged in social media in meaningful and relevant ways can see the following benefits:

• Increased customer satisfaction in all channels
• Increased loyalty, acquisition, retention
• Increased traffic and conversion
• Better SEO
• And support center/call center cost savings.
• Innovation and growth for the enterprise

 

Think multi-channel (Web, mobile, store, call center, other).

And internal to the organization as well as external.

 

Today, the big opportunities for business include:

 

Online Communities (Consider multi-lingual)

• Forums
• Blogs
• Micro-blogs
• Special pages and events

• Presence and participation across social spaces as a whole

Ideas Platforms

• Ideablob
• Dell Idea Storm
• MyStarbucksIdea

 

Web Services/Open APIs to drive growth on the web outside of your mybrand.com space.

 

As the Web 2.0 movement is about the power shift from the corporation/brand to the individual or groups of individuals, one of the hallmarks of the Web 3.0 wave will be the further personalization of the content and data that we receive and how we choose to receive it. Through an open API/Web Services strategy companies can see considerable extensions of their brand and increased conversion as a result.

 

Some other social applications to consider: Social Entrepreneurship and Social Shopping Sites. These deserve their own attention in a subsequent blog.

 

Where is social going?

1)      It’s going mobile. It’s already mobile, but this will get better and more sophisticated.

2)      It’s coming into your living room. With the next wave of IP enabled devices and interactive television, you will start to see social technology integration on your TV.

3)      It’s going physical. Think about the possibilities of GPS on your mobile, plus triggers from favored retailers. Now say you have a wishlist with a major retailers or a shopping aggregator like Wishpot. Then you drive by a retailer that has that flatpanel TV that you have on the list and pushes you a text message telling you you can get 20% off of that TV if you purchase within the next 60 minutes. Takes the whole know me, show me you know me philosophy to the next level. And drives incremental growth. Sweet.

Comments

[Jeff]

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