Social media is a relatively new term and people, especially marketers, are having a tough time figuring it out. What they want to do is just use social media as another platform for advertising to replace the billboard or radio ad. That is not likely to work unless you are selling fast food or some other mass consumption offering. (Seth Godin would say it’s meatball marketing).

Seth Godin wrote Permission Marketing about 10 years ago. We live in an attention deficit world. Getting someone’s attention is difficult. Literally, you have seconds to capture thier attention.

Along comes email marketing, which was the first permission based platform. (Was it abused? Absolutely). The keys to success for email marketing included a killer headline, giving value first, a great offer, and being conscious of the frequency of the message. In others words, less was more, especially if readers thought it contained a valuable message (or a coupon code or a freebie).

Now we have the social web of MySpace, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, blogs and hundreds of other places. The common thread is that people like to be social. Human beings are social creatures. We need interaction. People gravitate to tribes. Why? Because humans have a need for belonging, belief, and making a difference. Hence, Tribes.

An example is American Idol or 24 or Lost. Do a search to see that people are talking about the show on Twitter in real-time. Then get on blogs and forums after to discuss it with other fans. There are mentions on Facebook updates. It comes down to the connection even virtually with a like-minded person. Knowing you aren’t alone.

One outcome from this social networking is that word-of-mouth marketing is growing more important. UGC. User generated content – the whole idea behind Web 2.0. Reviews, blogs, comments, chat, interaction. So conversations are happening. About your company, your brand. Are you listening?

People bitch about bad service on their blog, on Twitter, on Amazon. It has an effect on your reputation. More people complain than praise. So you need to be Listening to quell the fire before it gets out of control. I know I said Listen twice. It’s important. In sales training the emphasis is on open ended questions followed by active listening. Social Media starts and ends with being Social. People have described being on Twitter as being at a cocktail party. The same etiquette rules apply on social media as they do at a cocktail party or a networking event.

• You need an elevator speech.
• You need to be engaging and interesting.
• You have to be authentic.
• You need to listen to others.

Authentic is essential. The more transparent you are in your  interaction with the marketplace, the better off you will be. Why? Because people do business with people, not brands. Companies always say, “It’s our people!” Of course, it is. Your workforce interacting with the marketplace at a time when all transactions are open, recorded and permanent.

Why was Permission integral to email marketing? Because no one has to give you their Attention. They have a delete key – and a voice to tell people how they feel about you. These conversations are happening – right now. You can ignore them or join in. Why join in? Because if you engage with your marketplace, try to fix things, make an honest effort, it wins you points – at the least for trying.

Social media is a two-way street – a platform or tool to connect with your audience and a speaker to hear what your customers are saying.  It is a bunch of tools (or software) that inter-play to tell stories about how your services benefit your clients. Flip side of that is that it is a real-time demonstration of how you take care of your customers and if you do indeed listen or just play lip service to the concept.

An aside to all that is that social media allows you to view your competition – and how they utilize social media platforms and what their users are really saying about them. Great for competitive research!

Take aways: story, connect, listen, tool.

Social networking sites are a media, a platform, a form used to deliver a message. That message should be concise and engaging. It will be step one in developing a relationship. What’s your road map for social media look like?

You can’t be every where, so you need to pick a few platforms. The message should be similar across the platforms. Here are some thoughts:

• Who is your audience?
• What is the message to the audience?
• What do you want them to do?
• What is the offer?
• Where’s your landing page?
• Are you enrolling them into a newsletter/email list, an RSS feed, an iTunes podcast subscription, a poll, a registration for a webinar, etc.?

The social platforms – newsletter, blogs, podcasts, video, transcripts – should be working together across the sites – your own website, blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.  That doesn’t necessarily mean put the same material everywhere. It does mean integrate it and link to it and make it available.

To get granular, let me talk tactics for a moment.

• Twitter is how people will find you – use keyword and #hashtags.
• Blog to discuss customers, employees, the Industry – not yourself or your products.
• Blog to tell stories about everyone involved with your brand’s success.
• Blog to engage or entertain or make people think.
• Can be more than one blogger (team blog!)
• Use video if you want. A picture is worth a thousand words.
• Podcasts  with transcripts for added SEO.
• A YouTube channel for interviews, How-To’s, behind-the-scenes
• Facebook fan page
• LinkedIn corporate page
• LinkedIn for recruitment
• Slideshare with any presentations that you have done.

Remember that word-of-mouth can be enhanced by listening and reacting in a positive way. You can also turn it a little with contests, coupons, pay-it-forward actions, and the like. There are many companies doing this well: Dell, Ford, P&G, Rubbermaid, Sharpie, Crayola, Southwest, JetBlue, Comcast, and of course Zappos.

Have a strategic plan for integrated offline and online media. Remember to be Social. Don’t be a bore.  It’s all about the Audience, not you.