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At the foundation of business and life is people. At the core of people are hearts and minds that want to connect with other people. It is in our DNA to want to connect with other human beings in a communal way. We want to rub elbows, clink glasses, laugh, cry and celebrate with people who have the same goals, objectives, beliefs, and interests as we do.
At the heart of social media is people. Social media is one big fat conversation that inspires, empowers, engages, delights, educates, and activates human beings when used for good.
So given that people want to connect with other human beings at the core of their being, and that social media is about connecting humans, why is it that marketers struggle with connecting humans together, using social media?
Do they struggle because….
- they have self centered goals?
- they don’t know how to connect humans to other humans so they simply focus on what they do know, which is spam?
- they are technology addicted shiny object chasers and put their geek desires before business?
- they struggle with communication?
- they don’t know their audience?
Whatever the reason is, we all know there are far more brands and digital marketers building communities with self serving goals vs brands delivering real value for their communities.
We also know many brand leaders question the real value of social media. They struggle with connecting the dots from a social network to a human to a business goal or objective. They don’t know how to prioritize where they spend their time or what social shiny object they should invest in.
Are you confused as to what social networks you should be leveraging in 2016 and beyond to build community? Should you continue to focus on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? Or should you start integrating live streaming? If yes, then should you dig into Facebook mentions, Facebook live, Periscope, Meerkat or none of the above?
The truth is you should not start with the technology. You should start with the people. You should start with your goal for building community. Why do you want to connect with other human beings? WHY do you want to connect other human beings together? What is in it for them and you?
If these are some of the question you would like to answer as you finalize your social media and digital marketing strategies and plans then take a listen to the 194th episode of the Social Zoom Factor podcast. In this episode I provide 10 goals for building and nurturing community that you can leverage to help you select and prioritize the social networks and platforms you should invest in to build community for your business and brand.
Take a listen and be sure to subscribe to the entire series on iTunes, Stitcher or SoundCloud!
Episode Highlights
- 10 goals for building community
- How to leverage the 10 possible goals to help you select what social networks and platforms to focus on in developing your social media and digital marketing strategy and plan
- Why building the size of your community should never be your only goal
- The power of tapping into the OPC – other people’s community and content
- Leveraging community to increase brand awareness or improve public perception
- Establishing thought leadership with community
- Increasing reach of content with the power of community
- Why you must be careful of chasing shiny objects
- The importance of knowing the goals of your audience and ideal customer
Supporting Resources:
- Audience Analysis Worksheet
- Welcome to the Inspiration Age – Are You Ready?
- Welcome to the Participation Age
- How to Tap into the Power of the OPC – Other People’s Content & Community
- Social Trust Factor: Ignite Results with Trust and Authority
- Are You Building a Community or a Self-Serving Empire?
- 8 Steps to Develop a Social Business Plan (white paper)
- How to Build a Social Business Strategy & Plan (episode 14)
- How to Build a Social Business Strategy & Plan (white paper)
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