Social networking: It’s engaging not broadcasting
As of late, the buzz words in the auction industry, and many industries, are “social networking.” However, the implementation thus far within the auction industry has been spotty at best, and when implemented most get it all wrong.
I’ve written about social networking on two separate occasions in the past both in May of 2008: Jumping into the social conversation without drowning; and Connecting via social networks. There is some good information that is still pertinent to conversations about social networking, especially in the jumping without drowning post.
In fact, in the jumping without drowning post, I review an article about 12 tips for success in social media. The last 6 tips focus on “diving into social media” and are: 7. Engage Your Audience; 8. Engage Your Employees; 9. Engage Your Customers; 10. Be Honest and Authentic; 11. Define Metrics According to Business Objectives; and 12. Fail Quickly. Fail Cheaply.
As I look at that short list two things jump out. First: engage, engage, engage; and second: honest and authentic. This is where most auction companies get it wrong. For the most part auction companies understand honest and authentic. But it’s the engage, engage, engage part where the mark is completely missed.
Auction companies broadcast market events. They mail hundreds and sometimes thousands of brochures, run multitudes of display ads, and run minutes or more of commercials on radio. Often, this is just the beginning of the marketing campaign. However, did you notice one thing these methods all have in common? Broadcast, broadcast, broadcast.
A primary tenant of social networking is to engage honestly and authentically. Yet, my experience has been auction companies are so trapped in broadcast mode that they fail to engage. Rather, they fall back on the old reliable method of broadcast marketing.
What does this mean? It means almost all the auction companies I follow broadcast links to auctions. That’s not engaging. Where is the insider information and tips? What about links to resources you find, or articles you found interesting? What about writing informational articles, and then passing that information along via Twitter or Facebook in the form of a link?
What if auction companies engaged their customers? Companies could promote resources for buyers and for sellers, pass along industry information, provide behind-the-scenes information about upcoming auctions, and so much more. What about actually interacting and having conversations with customers via Facebook and Twitter? When it comes time for a customer to use an auctioneer, who are they going to look to first? The company that merely blasts information, or the company that engages and interacts? The company that provides useful resources and information to the consumer or the company that merely broadcasts notice about their next auction?
Now, our company is just as guilty of broadcasting, or I should say was just as guilty. In fact, initially, we set up our website to automatically broadcast every new auction, real estate listing, and update to our Facebook page. However, we recently turned that feature off. At the same time, we added our company to Twitter (@SAuctioneers). We did turn on a feature that will automatically tweet anytime we add a new listing, auction, or update to our website. However, we’re determined to share links and information to our followers on Facebook and Twitter. In fact, we’ve incorporated a section called “We’re all a Twitter” to the front page of our website which displays our two most recent tweets. Consumers will be able to follow us on Twitter, Facebook or the front page of our website for engaging, honest, and authentic information. They’ll be able to interact with us, learn from us, and teach us. We’ll be able to share with them, and them with us. It will be social and relational.
In the end, what are you doing to be social? Are you broadcasting at the top of your lungs, or are you setting out to engage honestly and authentically those that come in contact with your company? Given the choice, I know with which person I’d want to hang out!
Jumping into the social conversation without drowning
You have seen the writing on the wall, and you know it is time to join the social media revolution. It is easy to jump into the social media, however, it is an entirely different task to do so without drowning in the sea of social media. Perform has written 12 Essential Tips for Success in Social Media.
BEFORE YOU START
1. Establish Clear Business Objectives and Metrics
2. Reframe Your Notion of Marketing Communications
3. Clarify Your PositioningRAMPING UP
4. Identify the Influencers
5. Listen Before You Launch
6. Integrate Social Media With SEODIVING INTO SOCIAL MEDIA
7. Engage Your Audience
8. Engage Your Employees
9. Engage Your Customers
10. Be Honest and Authentic
11. Define Metrics According to Business Objectives
12. Fail Quickly. Fail Cheaply.
For each of the 12 tips, there is a detailed explanation. If you’re serious about jumping into the social conversation without drowning, the paper is a must read!
Key ideas that I took away from the paper include:
Marketers need to see themselves not as owners of market share but as members of a market community, and their communications not so much campaigns as conversations with the market. Whereas the typical marketing program begins wrapping up when a campaign is pushed out the door, that’s where a social media program begins. It’s all about authentic engagement with the market community at every stage of the customer life cycle, not just during lead-gen and loyalty campaigns.
How very true. In the past it was sufficient to push out a marketing campaign and wait for the market to react. Now it’s become important to take the campaigns to the next level and engage with our community. It is as simple as “authentic engagement” and networking with all members of our community. It’s about being transparent in all our dealings.
It’s important to recognize that influencers are not always your customers, but their impact on your revenue stream can be significant. They may be former customers who have become disaffected; they may be champions of a competing product; or they may simply be agnostics with a strong market perspective that challenges your own. Being able to see beyond the scope of your own customer base to understand how your market is influenced is one of the most important advantages of a social media program.
How very true. The conversation is not always influenced by our customers, and those “other influencers” have incredible impact on our revenues. We need to look beyond the trees (our customers), and see the forest (the influencers of our market), to provide a revolutionary product or experience that will positively impact our revenue stream.
The combination of continually fresh content, extensive page inventory from individual blog posts, content expansion through comments and trackbacks, and incoming links from other blogs far surpasses the optimization potential of almost any static website.
The days of static webpages dominating are over. In order for our company to flourish, we must push beyond the static model of other companies, and embrace the dynamic “continually fresh content” approach to websites. Not only will it drive traffic to the website, but it will engage the community, and enable us to join the ranks of influencers.
One of the most promising areas of social media is the opportunity to bring your customers into the marketing process by allowing them to provide their own ideas and feedback about your products and programs…. [I]t’s important to recognize that your customers are a fertile source of new ideas and innovations, and social media makes that source more accessible than ever.
The trick is to engage the customers into the process. The scary part is the engagement, and fear of rejection. When I initially designed our website, I considered allowing comments on all auctions, real estate listings, and updates. This idea was brushed under the table. However, the more and more I think about the matter, I think it has great merit. Think about going to a real estate/auction website and being able to leave comments on the listings and auctions. As auctioneers and real estate agents, we’d be getting instant feedback on properties, and while we may not agree with the feedback, it’d be real and honest. I think it may even give us credibility within the community – I know the comments are being made, it’s just I’m not there to hear the comments or respond to the comments. I think this has real merit.
Social media is here to stay. In fact, it will and is reshaping how businesses interact with their communities. The key is to be an early and savvy adopter of the technology, and engage the customers. In my industry (auction), there are few companies that are pushing the envelope and exploring social media, and its impact on their revenues. However, one must push forward in hopes of creating an open dialogue with our clients, and in return reap the rewards of engaged customers.
