Social Meda - Reputations (Part two of three)

The following is a continuation of a recent seminar called Reputations put on by Chris Brogan and member panelists. The key points of the seminar discussed how to tap into the power of social networks to build your brand's influence, reputation, and of course profits.

Chris and the panel covered online social tools to build “networks of influence” which can help build reputation slowly and conversely damage it quickly. There is no quick method for building an online reputation as stated earlier it can be quickly lost.

Some thoughts when using social media from Chris and the panel:

• Humanize and create your own media which social media allows you to do; individual’s opinions now really do matter.
• The web and social media do make better, informed customers.
• Future - Customers in the near future will expect real time tweets of their concerns about a business. Quality of communication will improve, consolidation of platforms is coming.
• Do not be an ‘apps’ chaser – focus on the customer and follow their lead.
• Planting good articles and stories on the online, with some thought, will have both spread around the web quickly.
• You can use social media to build up networks to positively impact your business.
• Use social media to build trust; because trust is the key to building online reputations, those who traffic in it are the important people your business needs on its side.
• Social media’s tools allow businesses to Stop, Collaborate and Listen if they are engaged.
• ROI metrics can be created, tracked and measured from social media – prospects, leads, and phone call volume changes. Prospect conversions into bookings; combined with typical measures sales, profits.
• Define strategy and the business results and impact expected.
• Ask customers how they would us social media to connect to them and the type of relationship they want.
• Some companies use the term “digital influence” meaning all parts of the web and its impact on the business.
• Social media needs a purpose, a definition and action.
• Customers will expect for some businesses to operate a 24 x 7 x 365 twitter service to meet their needs.
• Are communications real and live or just automated, untimely and even unhelpful?

Chris’s starting point is to be helpful which his overriding and number one objective. Try to be helpful to the online community; equip them to do better things. Study communities and offer to sponsor them. Be open and flexible in selecting communities to sponsor – a community does not have to be directly related to one’s business when building a relationship.

More will be covered of the seminar “Reputations” in our next issue as part three.