June 4, 2012 Human media or social media? Have you figured out the new prime time? Social Media Share this post: Social media is really just an extension of us! One of the biggest mistakes one can make in social media marketing is to think that because you are active, you will “win” over the fans. Not only can hyperactivity be penalized as spam, but it is, ultimately, about getting your fans to be active. The quality of content is far more important than the quantity. A digital marketing action plan needs a strategy. But, this is not the point. Beyond the quality of content, there are two other supremely important key success factors (KSS) to a winning social media presence. Prime time social media The first KSS is that you must post when your target audience — friends, fans or potential followers — is online. It almost sounds like a constraint reminiscent of traditional media: we must be aware of the anointed hour. If your audience is not plugged in when your message is posted, then it will fall into a digital vacuum. It is ironic to think that we are again having to pay attention to “prime time.” Thus, we need to worry less about the long tail and more about when people are actually online. Humorists have it right when they say, “timing is everything.” A couple of great tools for figuring out when your audience is online are Tweriod (freemium), Crowdbooster (freemium) and WhenToTweet (quick but you need to pay $4.99). Interaction in real time Secondly, whereas before it might have been acceptable to indicate that “we will get back to you within 2 days, or 48 hours,” today, a multi-minute response time is the expectation. Operating in real time is tantamount to being present all the time. When someone posts, comments or texts, you – the brand – are exhorted to answer in real time. In other words, as if the social media comment was part of a live conversation (à la live chat). This has very real implications in terms of human resource allocation and work policy. Automatic services with limits Fortunately, there are many wonderfully efficient services that allow us to post on a deferred basis. BTW, my preferred service is Buffer. The issue is that we cannot post when we want to, or when we are ready (i.e. before the onslaught of work for us early birds, or late at night for the owls). We need to have a constant, enriching, and timely conversation when our audience is ready to receive. Of course, along with the right time, it is important to have a regular and constant stream of quality posts. That said, one cannot just automatically post and then sit back. To build a strong and active fan base, it is hyper important that a brand also works to interact (like, comment…), share (RT, repost) and otherwise engage with its audience and this in a timely fashion. As I mentioned before, this means BEING present and prepared to respond in real time. Human media more than social media It is, thus, not surprising that we end up with this notion that we are the media. Social media is the tool, the platform. We are the message, the media and the minute maker! This is how I end up thinking that the correct term might be Human Media rather than Social Media. What do you think? NEWSletter Subscribe to Minter’s Bi-Weekly NEWSletter and receive a free copy of the exclusive and updated 8 Golden Rules of an eReputation Your Gift For Signing Up 8 Golden Rules of an eReputation SUBSCRIBE! You have Successfully Subscribed! active media, engagement, human media, quality content, Real Time, real time marketing, social media Minter Dial Minter Dial is an international professional speaker, author & consultant on Leadership, Branding and Digital Strategy. After a successful international career at L’Oréal, Minter Dial returned to his entrepreneurial roots and has spent the last ten years helping senior management teams and Boards to adapt to the new exigencies of the digitally enhanced marketplace. He has worked with world-class organisations to help activate their brand strategies, and figure out how best to integrate new technologies, digital tools, devices and platforms. Above all, Minter works to catalyse a change in mindset and dial up transformation. Minter received his BA in Trilingual Literature from Yale University (1987) and gained his MBA at INSEAD, Fontainebleau (1993). His newest book Heartificial Empathy, Putting Heart into Business and Artificial Intelligence, bowed in December 2018 and won the Book Excellence Award 2019 as well as being shortlisted for the Business Book Awards 2019. It's available in Audiobook, Kindle and Paperback. He is also co-author of Futureproof (Pearson, Sep 2017) and sole author of The Last Ring Home (Myndset Press, Nov 2016), a book and documentary film, both of which have won awards and critical acclaim. Minter has a new book on leadership, You Lead, How being yourself makes you a better leader, published by Kogan Page, that released January 2021. It's easy to inquire about booking Minter Dial here. View all posts by Minter Dial Previous post Next post
DJdip June 4, 2012 at 8:17 pm I read this interesting article after I watched a documentary ''Us Now'' on http://topdocumentarystream.com/us-now/. Fabulous!
Money is no object? How to find the funds for digital marketing | Branding and digital marketing strategy | The Myndset by Minter DialBranding and digital marketing strategy | The Myndset by Minter Dial December 16, 2012 at 11:51 am […] an editorial line and calendar in the social media strategy that limits the “all about me” content and focuses on providing valuable content to […]