Social Media Talk

round table talk
Business Coaching



By: Santi Chacon
Business Coach

I am a proponent of getting out there and conversing with clients, partners, and other stakeholders about best practice.  Conversations have a wonderful way of weeding through the irrelevant; after all I get the 'the best of'' straight from our stakeholders. Professionals are invited to a round table event to discuss small business issues. These talks provide tremendous insight into small business and help us keep our fingers on the pulse of our stakeholder's preferences, thoughts, and needs.

I expounded on a few thoughts for you during that discussion:

JD: Talk about social technologies used as a vehicle to launch a product, brand, or service.

Chief Biz Guru: Any social media platform or technology would work wonderfully in launching a product, service, or brand. The key is to engage individuals or businesses that fit your target market before attempting to launch or roll out any new product, service, or brand image.

Content 

Education has always been the root to success not only for emerging markets but for emerging businesses. The world is hungry for opportunity therefore great content is effective in building brand awareness. It is appropriate to build a following through content creation before launching anything. I feel the more effective question to ask is: What social media platform can be best used for my brand, product or service?  This question infers that each business model is different. So, the original question can be answered in wild generalizations. This question just proposed beckons a specific understanding of a business plan and goals.

Tools used to build communities around your content first and brand second may include:
  1. 100zakladok
  2. 2 Tag
  3. 2linkme
  4. A1-Webmarks
  5. Add.io
  6. Adfty
  7. Adifni
  8. aero
  9. All My Faves
  10. Amazon
  11. Amen Me!
  12. Aol Lifestream
  13. AOL Mail
  14. Arto
  15. Aviary Capture
  16. Baang
  17. Baidu
  18. Bebo
  19. Bentio
  20. BiggerPockets
  21. Bit.ly
  22. bizSugar
  23. Bleetbox
  24. Blinklist
  25. Blip
  26. Blogger
  27. Bloggy
  28. Blogmarks
  29. Blogtrottr
  30. Blurpalicious
  31. Boardlite
  32. Bobrdobr
  33. BonzoBox
  34. BookmarkedByUs
  35. BookmarkingNet
  36. Bookmarky.cz
  37. Bookmerken
  38. Bordom
  39. Box.net
  40. Brainify
  41. Bryderi
  42. BuddyMarks
  43. Buzzzy
  44. Camyoo
  45. Care2
  46. Chiq
  47. Cirip
  48. CiteULike
  49. ClassicalPlace
  50. Clickazoo
  51. clp.ly
  52. Cndig
  53. Colivia.de
  54. Communicate
  55. Connotea
  56. COSMiQ
  57. Delicious
  58. DesignBump
  59. Designmoo
  60. Dig This Webhost
  61. DigaCultura
  62. Digg
  63. Diggita
  64. diglog
  65. Digo
  66. Digzign
  67. Diigo
  68. Dipdive
  69. doMelhor
  70. Dosti
  71. DotNetKicks
  72. DotNetShoutout
  73. DotShare
  74. Douban
  75. Drimio
  76. Dropjack
  77. Dwellicious
  78. dzone
  79. edelight
  80. EFactor
  81. eKudos
  82. elefanta.pl
  83. Email
  84. Embarkons
  85. euCliquei
  86. Evernote
  87. extraplay
  88. EzySpot
  89. Fabulously40
  90. Facebook
  91. Fai Informazione
  92. Fark
  93. Farkinda
  94. Fashiolista
  95. Fashion BURNER
  96. FAVable
  97. Faves
  98. favlog
  99. Favoriten.de
  100. Favoritus
  101. Flaker
  102. Floss.pro
  103. Folkd
  104. FollowTags
  105. forceindya
  106. FreeDictionary
  107. Fresqui
  108. FriendFeed
  109. Friendster
  110. funP
  111. fwisp
  112. Gabbr
  113. Gacetilla
  114. Gamekicker
  115. GiveALink
  116. GlobalGrind
  117. Gmail
  118. Good Noows
  119. Google
  120. Google Buzz
  121. Google Reader
  122. Google Translate
  123. Gravee
  124. GreaterDebater
  125. Grono.net
  126. Grumper
  127. Haber.gen.tr
  128. Hacker News
  129. Hadash Hot
  130. Hatena
  131. Hazarkor
  132. Healthimize
  133. Hedgehogs.net
  134. HelloTxt
  135. hipstr
  136. Hitmarks
  137. Hot Bookmark
  138. Hotklix
  139. Hotmail
  140. HTML Validator
  141. Hyves
  142. ideaREF!
  143. Identica
  144. iGoogle
  145. ihavegot
  146. Instapaper
  147. iOrbix
  148. iSociety
  149. iWiW
  150. Jamespot
  151. Jisko
  152. JoliPrint
  153. Jumptags
  154. KaBlog
  155. Kaboodle
  156. Kaevur
  157. Kipup
  158. KiRTSY
  159. Kledy
  160. Kommenting
  161. La tafanera
  162. Laaikit
  163. Ladenzeile
  164. Librerio
  165. Link Ninja
  166. Link-a-Gogo
  167. LinkedIn
  168. Links Gutter
  169. LinkShares
  170. Linkuj.cz
  171. Livefavoris
  172. LiveJournal
  173. LockerBlogger
  174. Logger24.com
  175. Lynki
  176. Mail.ru
  177. Markme
  178. Mashbord
  179. Mawindo
  180. Meccho
  181. meinVZ
  182. Mekusharim
  183. Memori.ru
  184. Menéame
  185. Messenger
  186. Mindbodygreen
  187. Mister Wong
  188. Mixx
  189. Moemesto.ru
  190. mototagz
  191. mRcNEtwORK
  192. Multiply
  193. myAOL
  194. mylinkvault
  195. Myspace
  196. N4G
  197. NetLog
  198. Netvibes
  199. Netvouz
  200. NewsMeBack
  201. NewsTrust
  202. Newsvine
  203. Nujij
  204. OKNOtizie
  205. oneview
  206. OnGoBee
  207. orkut
  208. Osmosus
  209. Oyyla
  210. Packg
  211. pafnet.de
  212. PDF Online
  213. PDFmyURL
  214. PhoneFavs
  215. PimpThisBlog
  216. Ping.fm
  217. Planypus
  218. Plaxo
  219. Plurk
  220. Pochval.cz
  221. PopEdition
  222. Posteezy
  223. Posterous
  224. Prati.ba
  225. Print
  226. PrintFriendly
  227. Pusha
  228. QRF.in
  229. Quantcast
  230. Qzone
  231. Read It Later
  232. receeve.it
  233. Reddit
  234. Rediff MyPage
  235. RedKum
  236. RideFix
  237. Scoop.at
  238. Segnalo
  239. Sekoman
  240. Select2Gether
  241. Shaveh
  242. SheToldMe
  243. ShirIntarIn
  244. Simpy
  245. Sina Weibo
  246. Slashdot
  247. SMI
  248. SodaHead
  249. Sonico
  250. Speedtile
  251. Sphinn
  252. SpinSnap
  253. Spoken To You
  254. sportpost
  255. springpad
  256. Spruzer
  257. Squidoo
  258. Startaid
  259. Startlap
  260. Story Follower
  261. studiVZ
  262. Stuffpit
  263. StumbleUpon
  264. Stumpedia
  265. Stylehive
  266. Surfpeople
  267. Svejo
  268. Symbaloo
  269. TagMarks.de
  270. Tagvn
  271. Tagza
  272. tarpipe
  273. TellMyPolitician
  274. The Web Blend
  275. Thinkfinity
  276. ThisNext
  277. Throwpile
  278. Tip'd
  279. TopSiteler
  280. Transferr
  281. Tulinq
  282. Tumblr
  283. Tusul
  284. Tvinx
  285. TweetMeme
  286. Twitter
  287. TwitThis
  288. Typepad
  289. Urlaubswerk
  290. Viadeo
  291. Virb
  292. Visitez Mon Site
  293. Vkontakte
  294. vybrali SME
  295. Vyoom
  296. Webnews
  297. Whois Lookup
  298. Windy Citizen
  299. WireFan
  300. Wordpress
  301. Worio
  302. Wykop
  303. Xanga
  304. XING
  305. Y! Bookmarks
  306. Y! Buzz
  307. Y! Mail
  308. Yammer
  309. Yardbarker
  310. Yemle
  311. Yigg
  312. Yoolink
  313. Yorumcuyum
  314. Youblr.
  315. Youbookmarks
  316. YouMob
  317. Yuuby
  318. Zakladok.net
  319. Zanatic
  320. ZicZac
  321. Zootool
Effectiveness

Efforts should remain strategic and a person should consider limiting the platforms she uses, otherwise it may be difficult to track real results to improve effectiveness. Too many social media platforms may cannibalize a brand if individuals are not careful.

Business Model

The television show American Idol is a great example of creating a following first and then delivering music brands second.  This show has launched many multi-million dollar brands. The shows community has tremendous buying power. This potential revenue stream is available to anyone who can create a similar type of following on or off-line.

JD: What made social media a more appropriate choice than a ‘traditional’ marketing approach?

Chief Biz Guru: Online marketing has only captured 16%-18% of the world's market (advertising industry), which tells me that there is tremendous growth potential. For most of the world a traditional approach to marketing is the most effective platform for marketing dollars.

Tradition Vs. Internet

Although we as consumers perceive internet dollars as a transition in business as we know it, it is only a niche market on a global scale. What exemplifies tradition are 2010 numbers.  As we end this year we should note that it was highest grossing year for retailers at 520 billion dollars in revenue, in which internet sales were only 11% of that. Using social media as a platform to sell products and services is a growing niche of the internet  but only a small fraction of the 11%.

The Social Media Niche

After all our social media focus is still on sales, right?  Don't take your eyes off the prize, which is revenue first in the form of a return on investment.

In this social media niche people want a relationship with brands, value delivered upfront before deciding to pay for anything, transparency, and through social media these needs are met. The Gallup Organization has done numerous surveys on customer engagement based on their findings I would argue the more prospects or customers are engaged the more loyal they will be to a brand. Social media is a wonderful platform to engage those prospects and customers early in the sales cycle and in the aftermarket.

A FREE evaluation with a business coach is a value of $500.

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