Social networking is radically changing the traditional marketing landscape. This weekend, two of my business associates asked me how they could get up-to-speed quickly. After I found myself repeating the same information twice, I thought, Hmm. Maybe I should capture this in a blog post.
To become fluent in social networking, I recommend you do the following:
- Just do it. There is no substitute for first-hand experience. You have to dive into social networking head-first to really understand it. There is a difference between knowing something and knowing about something. You will never know social networking until you do social networking.
If you haven’t done so already, sign-up for a Twitter account, a Facebook account, and a blog—in that order. I also recommend that you read the following posts on my blog:
- 12 Reasons to Start Twittering
- The Beginner’s Guide to Twitter
- How Much Time Does Twittering Really Take?
- How to Update Your Facebook Status with Twitter
- How to Start a Blog
With regard to blogging, you might also watch my presentation on blogging from the O’Reilly Tools of Change Publishing Conference.
- Subscribe to social networking blogs. There are some great resources on the Internet for free. Currently, I am subscribed to the following blogs (via RSS):
I also follow these social networking gurus:
- Read a few key books. These are the best books I have read so far on social networking, I have reviewed Tribes here on my blog. If you can only read one book, it’s the one to read. I plan to post my reviews of the others as I have time. (The links below are Amazon affiliate links .)
- Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin
- 33 Million People in the Room: How to Create, Influence, and Run a Successful Business with Social Networking by Juliette Powell
- Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff
- Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations by Clay Shirky
- Attend a seminar. I highly recommend the LifeWork 2.0 seminar taught by Randy Elrod and Spence Smith. They will teach you more in a day than you can learn on your own in months of study. This is a day-long, fast-paced seminar that will leave your head spinning. But you will also know exactly what to do next to use social networking as the powerful marketing tool that it is.
Building Champions has been coaching me since 2002. They have taught me to be more proactive and intentional in both my business and personal life. Visit their Web site to learn more and see their special offer for my blog readers.
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excellent!
I agree 100%. Was glad to see too that I already subscribe to 6 of the 7 blogs you recommended and 3 of the 4 gurus you cited.
I'm adding the others right away. Now, if I can make time to do a little more reading (audio books here I come).
Well put. I run into people who dismiss social media before they try it. Give it a go for a month and then decide if it works for you. If you still don't like it, you'll at least have a better perspective for your position.
I agree. I started using Twitter because @recreate challenged me to try it for two weeks.
This was very timely for me. I am trying to figure out how to integrate social media into the 2 businesses that my husband and I own.
I have a bookkeeping business and for that I have a facebook page, a twitter account, a web page, and want to start a blog.
My husband (a non-techie) has a painting and remodeling business and we have a web page for that, but am thinking of adding a blog and twitter account for that too.
I also have a personal twitter, facebook, and blog. And I haven't been very disciplined doing any of it yet.
The downside is that it would be me updating all of this info, and I don't want to get overwhelmed.
We live in the Chicago area, my parents used to own Christian Bookstores (I remember Wolgemuth & Hyatt!!), and I am finding it difficult to find good information on this in our local area.
Thanks for the info, I need to sit down and map out objectives for all of this.
This is a fantastic post Mike! I am making this a Twitter favorite and will be sending it to anyone I know getting into social networking.
Wow. Thanks!
Great stuff.
Couple of books and blogs there that I will really enjoy.
Phill
I have Tribes on my To Read list. Currently, I need to do some time blocking (Building Champions client!) to ensure that these forms of media don't engulf my time. Currently, I am reading Ready for Anything by David Allen. As far as other resources, I think following those who share interests with you are the best resources of 'how-to'. As a Realtor, I specifically use some blogs there that help, including the Tomato Blogging Coach.
I am starting to use the social networking site Beaver.com. It's new and I think with that name it will take off. People will find me and I will be at the top as a new user on a new site, http://www.beaver.com
Thanks, Michael. I too shall be sharing your awesome "Guide To Networking" with others, but alas, I will never ever Twitter. As for the Facebook: I found it to be too invasive–too much ado about nothing for me, and with virus and such, it became too much … More importantly, I personally felt it would be setting a bad example for my teen.
But again, excellent post!
I love the "Networked Blogs" application on Facebook. It lets me keep all the blogs I follow in one spot where I can see the new post titles at a glance. It has helped me connect with other bloggers and blog readers with common interests via topic tags. And it lets me share blogs I like with my Facebook Friends. I also run a Facebook group promoting one of my blogs….which in turn is a tool to promote my upcoming books.
Hi Michael – from the shadows I've been a long time reader of your blog. With so much information going around these days on social networking, its hard to sift through all the fluff and noise. You have summed it all up with a great list of references from which to begin.
Thanks for the great post. Much appreciatted.
Facebook- check
Blog- check
Twitter- check (although I truly don't understand twitter and don't know why I need it!)
Assuming you connect on Facebook with people you know, but are interested in occasionally connecting with new people, I highly recommend Twitter. It's especially powerful for me in bringing to me insights from people I might not connect with otherwise.
For many thought leaders, it's an extension of their blog. They often "tweet" exclusive content on Twitter or suggest links to stories and blog posts I wouldn't otherwise know about.
That along makes it well worth it for me.
Great post.
I stumbled across Terry Whalin's blog and he talks about social networking and marketing quite a bit. He seems to know a lot about it as well.
I just recently got TweetDeck for Twitter, and I'm lovin' it!
Thanks for the post.
Terry's stuff is great. Highly recommended.
Twitter is one of those things you won't understand until you try it. Why not give it a week and see what you think?
Oh, I'm on and trying. BTW, what's your twitter? I'm LazyMomAmanda. We exchanged emails a couple of months ago. David Dunham is representing me. Great blog!
MichaelHyatt (all one word)
Great post. I have begun to follow your blog, and I find it incredibly useful. My company – a consulting firm – is new to blogging and Web 2.0. The key for us is to narrow it down to 2-3 things… and make sure we do them well.
Our blog is now up, and we have developed a significant amount of postings (40+). We are trying to determine how to "market it", as well as where to give and receiving comments. We feel it is important to participate in the "dialog" related to our business – but can't figure out where.
I believe we have a lot to add… given that we are on the "front lines" of transformational projects for Fortune 500 companies. We just can't find the dialog!
Do you have any advice on how to conduct this research? I have used the search function in my Google Reader, but most blogs are "news content driven". Maybe some of the McKinsey, Harvard Review locations. Those are more "thought leadership" locations.
Thanks for the great efforts!
Great Stuff Michael! Thanks!
I'd like to illustrate the importance of social media as a marketing tool.
From a blog: Late Tuesday evening, around 10:00 pm, I received a call on my business line from a local area code (my phone was forwarded to my cell phone as I was out of the office for meetings). The person was not already in my address book so all I got on my caller ID was the phone number. To answer or not to answer … that is the question. I always answer my phone if I am available. The gentleman on the other end is interested in franchising, actually, interested in starting a franchise concept from ground zero. It’s a great idea, I think, and he has a lot of the work started. After a brief conversation my question was, “How did you find me?” “Well,” he says. “First, I searched the word ‘franchise,’ found FranchiseWorks.com and I saw your profile. Then I decided to search your name, Jack Someone, in Google. From there, I found your blog and also your website. Your phone number is on your website.”
Let’s suppose Jack is not a person but a product, and the caller is a customer. This puts into perspective the efficiency of social media as a marketing, advertising and PR tool. With social media you can target a specific segment of the audience. For example, your product is a mug with business messages written on them. So you want to look for 30 to 65 year-old, males/females, hot beverage drinkers, CEO/Manager/Purchaser of businesses who may be interested in your product. You go to blogs written by and read by your target audience and fine-tune the message to their interests and lifestyles and…voila! You save time, money and effort by targeting your product to the right audience.
Great recommendations. I think the cardinal rule of social networking is to "just do it…for a period of time." You can't tweet once and understand twitter. One must find ways to integrate it into the workflow. I made the conscious choice in December to learn it, use it, and get others to use it. It is now a natural part of my daily routine.
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Michael thank you so much for your insight here with this post on social networking. It is very informative. I am curious if you have a minute would you mind clarifying a couple things for me, I have a great kit over at my blog for interacting with you, and who knows you might also find the kit called a js-kit useful someday. I was also interested in your thoughts on what I wrote about social networking. Thank you in advance Anthony (TAG) George
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I have been a big reader of both your blog and your tweets since I have been on Twitter–I am a huge fan! I have always had a lot of respect for Thomas Nelson, and having a face on the organization works wonders! You have done an excellent job representing your company.
I am currently writing a term paper for a public relations class about the influences of social media (specifically Facebook and Twitter) in organizations today. I have found your blogs to be ultra beneficial to my research.
I appreciate your enthusiasm for the new generation of social networking and your eagerness to inform and advise others!
I have a professor that has actually asked me to help him look for some books that would make good classroom “textbooks.” He is wanting to offer a class on social marketing in social media and has asked me to help him out with it. Do you have any suggestions for a classroom book?
This was very helpful to me. Taking responsibility for my own success is not only enlightening its empowering.
Michael, I really like your advice on using these tools. As someone working in the academic field I think we are way behind other fields in using these things to our advantage. To that end I have started using my twitter account more often and even started a blog. Thanks for the tips.
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