Top 8 Things Every CEO Should Know About Social Media
July 26, 2012
Two of Neiman’s digital leaders, George Ward and Chris Reif were recently asked to give a presentation in Chicago to a gathering of CEOs at their annual summit. The knowledge levels in the audience were going to be varied. From “What is Twitter?” to “How can I optimize for search without sacrificing brand aesthetics?”
With that in mind, George and Chris crafted a presentation geared towards convincing a CEO that social media is more than just launching a Facebook page. That social media is the new word of mouth. And that engagement, and ultimately utility, means absolutely everything in today’s world.
Here’s just a glimpse of the Top 8 Things Every CEO Should Know About Social Media.
#1: Social media is diverse.
The reality is that the word social means so much more than just Facebook. From instagram to pinterest, from foursquare to creating your own specialized platforms. We believe sorting out what makes the most sense for your brand starts with answering four key questions. You’ll need to view the presentation to know what they are.
#2: Social media isn’t free.
At the end of the day, social media engagement is driven by people — many marketers are investing more than 20 hours a week in social tactics. So be prepared to invest dollars and resources, but be comforted knowing the efficiency of social media can deliver competitive advantage.
#3: Social media isn’t an island.
Social should support, better yet enhance, the rest of your communication strategy. From public relations to customer service, think about how you can use social tactics to drive even deeper engagement. And vice versa.
#4: Social media isn’t a popularity contest.
It's time to turn your focus from collecting fans to engaging fans. We'll talk about how.
#5: Social media isn’t going away.
Do we really need to prove this to you? Well, ok. In the last minute, 2MM videos were viewed on youtube. 700K messages were sent on facebook, 175K tweets…should we even go on? 83% of marketers indicate that social media is important for their business.* We just need to work together to figure out how.
#6: Social media is data rich.
Ok. Listen up. This is where it gets serious. We know how important consumer data is to marketers, but we've noticed that most of them are ignoring the wealth of data that's behind their consumers' social media behavior. Harnessing that data to create new utility and build brand buzz is a very powerful and most likely untapped opportunity for your brand. We'll show you a few Neiman created examples of what we mean.
#7: Social media ROI is challenging.
Like all of your marketing initiatives, social performance indicators should relate back to the goals of your initiative. But just like the communication channel is different from broad reach, low engagement options, the metrics you'll need to use won't always be measured in the same way either. We'll talk about how to start defining the metrics that make sense for your brand.
#8: Social media should not be your only digital tactic.
Just because social media is the latest communication tool to garner the attention of marketers and consumers alike, it doesn’t mean you should be ignoring your website. And email marketing. And mobile. Consumers are constantly connected to your brand, but in different ways. And your message can get lost in just minutes. So make sure all the parts of your ecosystem are working in harmony. Together.
For more on 8 Things About Social Media, check out the presentation at http://www.slideshare.net
And for more on George and Chris, just follow them on twitter.