When we sit down together in the war room to begin developing our social media strategy for a client, we’ve found it helpful to use this list of the ten categories of social media. Each requires a different approach, and all are key to the success of our overall SMM (social media marketing) plan.
Let’s take a look at the ten categories and what makes each unique:
Social Networking
Networks like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter are primarily tools for keeping in touch with friends and family and growing social circles. This is the primary focus of our Online Reputation Management (ORM) and viral marketing efforts, and a great way to spread your new content (you are publishing fresh content regularly, right?) to new prospective clients.
Key tactics include:
- Monitoring for mention of your brand
- Monitoring for indication of need for your products and/or services
- Research in trends and interests in your industry and location
- Appearing in searches for topics relevant to your Ideal Online Prospects
Business Networking
Networks like LinkedIn, Ryze and Ecademy are used to network online, maintain relationships with your existing business contacts and develop relationships with new business contacts. Aside from having a great looking and active business profile on these networks, a great way to make new connections is to take time to answer questions in the Q&A areas. This establishes expertise, follows the well-known mantra of[ help-first], and the SEO benefits aren’t bad either.
Key tactics include:
- Monitoring and answering questions in the Q&A sections
- Building your local and industry connections
- Developing warm introductions to Ideal Online Prospects
- Updating statuses/news items on your brand
- Garnering referrals and endorsements
Social Bookmarking
Services like Delicious and StumbleUpon can significantly impact your exposure to new prospective customers and fans. Building branded collections, and encouraging your fans to add your web properties to their collections are important parts of a well-rounded social media marketing strategy.
Key tactics include:
- Encouraging bookmarking of your content and web properties
- Providing access to actively updated company/employee collections
- Creating viral landing pages/content to attractbookmarking
Content Voting
Websites like Digg and Reddit allow the readers themselves to vote up articles and videos that they find interesting, funny or important. The more that “digg” or vote a story, the more that see it and have a chance to vote it up themselves. With a well crafted piece and some strong initial promotion, content voting websites can very quickly spread your message and drive lots of traffic to your web properties.
Key tactics include:
- Providing the ability to vote up items from your web properties
- Planning and promoting content to attract buzz
- Suggesting/sharing relevant and related content
News Aggregation
Websites like Technorati and Newsvine are a great way to publish content to a wider audience and establish expertise in your industry.
Key tactics include:
- Re-purposing and publishing content in reputable aggregation services
- Cross-linking content with other web properties
Check back soon as we cover the remaining five categories of social media in The Ten Categories of Social Media (Part II).
The Ten Categories of Social Media (Part I)
When we sit down together in the war room to begin developing our social media strategy for a client, we’ve found it helpful to use this list of the ten categories of social media. Each requires a different approach, and all are key to the success of our overall SMM (social media marketing) plan.
Let’s take a look at the ten categories and what makes each unique:
Social Networking
Networks like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter are primarily tools for keeping in touch with friends and family and growing social circles. This is the primary focus of our Online Reputation Management (ORM) and viral marketing efforts, and a great way to spread your new content (you are publishing fresh content regularly, right?) to new prospective clients.
Business Networking
Networks like LinkedIn, Ryze and Ecademy are used to network online, maintain relationships with your existing business contacts and develop relationships with new business contacts. Aside from having a great looking and active business profile on these networks, a great way to make new connections is to take time to answer questions in the Q&A areas. This establishes expertise, follows the well-known mantra of[ help-first], and the SEO benefits aren’t bad either.
Social Bookmarking
Services like Delicious and StumbleUpon can significantly impact your exposure to new prospective customers and fans. Building branded collections, and encouraging your fans to add your web properties to their collections are important parts of a well-rounded social media marketing strategy.
Content Voting
Websites like Digg and Reddit allow the readers themselves to vote up articles and videos that they find interesting, funny or important. The more that “digg” or vote a story, the more that see it and have a chance to vote it up themselves. With a well crafted piece and some strong initial promotion, content voting websites can very quickly spread your message and drive lots of traffic to your web properties.
News Aggregation
Websites like Technorati and Newsvine are a great way to publish content to a wider audience and establish expertise in your industry.
Check back soon as we cover the remaining five categories of social media in The Ten Categories of Social Media (Part II).