Getting Started: Social Networking is a Cultural Paradigm Shift, Not a Cultural One

Whether you work for a Fortune 1000 company or you run your own business with your family members manning the cash register, you’re likely contemplating your first steps toward using social networking as a marketing medium. This may not come as a surprise, but the first step in a marketing plan using social media is to have a marketing plan period. A good social networking launch has to start with plan that takes into account knowledge of your business, your market and the tools available. It should be thoroughly researched. It should have goals that relate to revenue. You should be able to measure your progress and act on the information you collect. Then a strategy develops.

The first step to any marketing plan is discovery or research. Organizations should assess their markets and the way they sell their offerings today. Probably no one is more of an expert than you on the subject of your products or services, who wants to buy them and why they do business with you. Discovery should incorporate the insights of your team’s marketing department, your sales department and those responsible for logistics. A foray into technology like this one should include your information technology experts.

Because social media are different than other communication, marketing and advertising mediums, you need to thoroughly assess who on your team can participate. Social networking is just as much about community building as anything else. And you need to match up your marketing plan with the tools available.

If you do good research, the assessment will guide your next steps.

First off, social networking is growing and it is different than anything else you’ve participated in. Social networking passed email as a method of communicating this past year. Seventy percent of those on the Internet are visiting social networking sites. And the Internet is global and so are the participants of social networking. You need to incorporate a worldwide perspective when you develop your social network marketing plan.

If two thirds of all those folks on line are on social networks of some type, it behooves businesses to recognize this channel as a medium to reach their market. Social networks are not exactly like other forms of communication. Advertisers and marketers need to take a different approach accommodating a new tone and method of messaging. Social networking requires a different voice than advertising. You can’t have a “President’s Day” sale, for instance. You have to stay current on which social networking web sites suit your marketing purpose. You have to stay current which new social networking medium is being viewed and used. Do you want a MySpace page, a Facebook fan site, do you want to Tweet or write a blog. Can video be the best method to show off your product? Is mobile social networking your ideal medium?

You must think of the demographics of your audience when formulating your plan.  You’re not going to reach your audience effectively just by placing advertisements. In the social media milieu, consumers are less tolerant of ads, social network spammers and friends whose messages are solely promotional. Your message must include something interesting, newsworthy and valuable. If you really want attention it wouldn’t hurt if you have a sense of humor.

Don’t worry if you think you’re being left behind. Most companies are just now firing up (and refining) their efforts. You’re not too late to jump in; many businesses, both big and small, are just starting. There are no experts at social networking, although there are many specialists claiming this status. If it takes five years to attain expert abilities, it’s hard for anyone to claim that much depth as subject matter experts this soon in the social media game.

The world of Web 2.0 is more a cultural paradigm change than a technical one. These Internet communication technologies have existed for years. Now they’re being used differently. This includes chat, instant messaging, on line video and on line commentaries. More people are communicating in new ways and they’re doing it faster.

So step one, research a plan. Figure out whom on your team needs to participate and how many hours should be dedicated from each. Think about the tools available and where your market likely lurks in the on line world. Tie your social networking plan into your overall marketing plan. Identify how you’ll measure your progress, how’ll you’ll integrate a call to action into your messages. Figure out how to make your data actionable.

Ultimately get onto these various social mediums to learn the space, the tone and the nuance required to successfully move your message. Like any good plan, collect data, assess, revise and re-execute because the information will make you smarter and the field is constantly changing. So…can I follow you on Twitter; can I connect with you on Linkedin, would you like to be my friend on Facebook? You might as well learn how to move the chess pieces before you enter the tournament.