Summary
Chapter 7, titled “Relating to Your Public: Social Media Marketing and Public Relations,” discusses social media as a tool for PR flacks. A big point is the decreases in traditional media in terms of readership/viewership and revenue. The authors also cite the “filters” (space and time limitations) inherent in traditional media, and explain that social media enables companies to more effectively, quickly, and thoroughly engage with the public when news and announcements need to be made. A review of crisis communication appears near the end.
Chapter 8, titled “The Kumbaya Effect: Social Media Marketing Builds Community,” is a discussion of a customer-centric model of social media marketing (as opposed to product- or brand-centric). While difficult to measure monetarily (though there are ways, such as with tools like Argyle Social), building community on social media is less about immediate sales and more about the lifetime value of the customer.
Chapter 7, titled “Relating to Your Public: Social Media Marketing and Public Relations,” discusses social media as a tool for PR flacks. A big point is the decreases in traditional media in terms of readership/viewership and revenue. The authors also cite the “filters” (space and time limitations) inherent in traditional media, and explain that social media enables companies to more effectively, quickly, and thoroughly engage with the public when news and announcements need to be made. A review of crisis communication appears near the end.
Chapter 8, titled “The Kumbaya Effect: Social Media Marketing Builds Community,” is a discussion of a customer-centric model of social media marketing (as opposed to product- or brand-centric). While difficult to measure monetarily (though there are ways, such as with tools like Argyle Social), building community on social media is less about immediate sales and more about the lifetime value of the customer.
Response
I thought the authors’ discussion of superbloggers was interesting and useful. It got me looking for blogs and networks that could be pertinent to Modern Machine Shop Magazine, my A3 company. I made a list to post in the A3 blog. This reminded me of an article we read that talked a bit about B2B social media use.
A great key from chapter 8 on building community is this line: “You have to be human. You have to engage in conversations. You have to be customer-centric, not brand-centric” (135), followed by this one: “Because your community is made up of human beings--the most emotionally inconsistent of all mammals--you’re going to have to read and react a lot” (142). The Fiskars case study resonated with me as an example of building a (in this case, formal) community around something that isn’t sexy (orange-handled scissors).
Good key points from Guy Kawasaki quoted in the end:
I thought the authors’ discussion of superbloggers was interesting and useful. It got me looking for blogs and networks that could be pertinent to Modern Machine Shop Magazine, my A3 company. I made a list to post in the A3 blog. This reminded me of an article we read that talked a bit about B2B social media use.
A great key from chapter 8 on building community is this line: “You have to be human. You have to engage in conversations. You have to be customer-centric, not brand-centric” (135), followed by this one: “Because your community is made up of human beings--the most emotionally inconsistent of all mammals--you’re going to have to read and react a lot” (142). The Fiskars case study resonated with me as an example of building a (in this case, formal) community around something that isn’t sexy (orange-handled scissors).
Good key points from Guy Kawasaki quoted in the end:
- Create something worth building a community around. (could be product; could be activity, need, idea)
- Identify and recruit advocates immediately. (compare Fiskars case)
- Welcome criticism. (community!!!)
- Publicize the community’s existence. (takes time)
Questions
- Are there any good resources out there for ways to generate community ideas?
- Are there benefits to a large brand joining smaller niche communities as an alternative to/supplement to creating its own?