Social Media Marketing, An Hour a Day: Social Content; Multimedia |

Social Media Marketing, An Hour a Day: Social Content; Multimedia

Twitter has all the complexity of walking into a room full of people at a party. You start by listening, and then introduce yourself and get involved. Microblogs boil social networking down to its most essential elements: a post, a comment, and an indication of relationships. -Dave Evans

There is much to be said about the use of various microblogging sites such as Twitter, Seesmic, Jaiku as well as the various status update features on Facebook and Myspace. All of them allow you to post quick, short bursts of text to the entire world (or just your friends and family). At its core, it is a great way to get information across quickly and efficiently. And in the business world, microblogging can be extremely effective for marketing purposes because it allows you to interact with your consumers.

A Note About Podcasting

According to Wikipedia, a podcast is a “series of digital computer files that are released periodically and made available for download by means of web syndication”. In plain English, it’s an audio file that you can download on iTunes daily, weekly or monthly by subscribing to it. It’s an extension of blogging. Regarding podcasting, Evans is quick to point out that the real importance of podcasting isn’t the clip itself but rather how it is delivered. As he stated:

It’s about giving your audience the absolute choice of where, when and how to consume your content.

When done correctly, podcasting is highly effective. Check out the following statistics that Evans notes:

Advertising in podcasts and online shows has a three-fold ad effectiveness increase over traditional online video and a seven-fold effectiveness increase over television.
Embedded ad placements are more effective than pre-roll across a range of audio and video formats.
Advertising in podcasts and online shows is effective in moving users from awareness to consideration to purchases. There is a 73 percent average increase in likelihood to use/buy versus a control group.
Podcast advertising leads to a more favorable opinion of an advertiser after hearing or seeing an ad. Sixty-nine percent of those podcast listeners surveyed had a more favorable view of the advertisers following ad exposure. [Source: Podtrac-TNS Advertising Effectiveness Studies, 2006-2008]

The Main Points According to Dave Evans:

Blogs are an effective, easy way to build a credible social presence: Be prepared to deal with direct, public customer feedback.
Microblogs are casual forums that can be used to quickly create a following.
Audio and video content can be used to extend text-based information. When created by your customers, video can convey to them a real sense of participation in the brand.
Podcasting gives those interested in what you have to say the ability to choose where, when, and on what device they will listen.
Social media is one of the many tools that you have available when developing and extending your business prescence. Like your entire toolbox, the more that your social components interlock with each other and with your traditional efforts, the better.