#socStardom2: A Fireside Chat with Social Media Guru Dave Evans
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| Speaker Dave Evans (right) talks with an attendee after the event |
Close to 75 social media-minded people convened on campus for #socStardom2, featuring social media expert Dave Evans, a ClickZ.com columnist and author of Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day. Dave spent close to two hours talking about a range of social media topics — from
Twitter and LinkedIn to blogging and message boards. A highlight of “takeaways” from the evening include:
On your consumers / customers:
• People today want to figure things out on their own. They want to talk with those who’ve done the activity, used the product, etc. So cultivate your faithful followers. Give them a reason to talk you up and a forum in which to do so.
• The social web changes purchasing dynamics. It used to be: be aware – consider – buy. Now, after buying, people talk about the product online, which folds them back into the purchasing cycle as they influence others at the “consider” phase.
On social media networking sites:
• LinkedIn: Have a complete profile. Put thought into who you accept as your friend because everyone you add is a reflection of you.
• Have a personal networking strategy for your use of social media. Don’t just use it to use it. Don’t be somewhere because you think you have to be there. Be on the sites where you think you’ll benefit.
• Personal networking strategy, part 2: On LinkedIn, Dave connects with people he actually knows who can vouch for him. On Twitter, he wants to have as many people as possible in his network who can answer questions he does not even know he has right now.
On transparency:
• If you’re out there, you’d better be telling people who you are. You can write from the biased point of view of being with a company, as long as you tell people you’re from that company.
• Make sure your company has a social media policy that requires people disclose who they are (i.e., who they work for) when they’re interacting in the social media world.
On demographics:
• While creators of social media are younger, the consumers of social media, especially in the context of purchase decisions, are all ages.
On business use:
• When talking with the C-suite about social media, always lead with the business objectives and then tie social media activities to those objectives.
“I have never seen an event with so many engaged people sitting on the edge of their seats dying to get involved, wanting to participate,” wrote Mary Fumento, Reference Librarian, American Public Power Association, after the event.”
Follow @socStardom on Twitter to find out about future
#socStardom events, including the upcoming
#socStardom3 in June.
You can also follow socStardom events on Mayra
Ruiz’s blog.
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