Companies need to be thinking about how they engage with users beyond the traditional website to establish and build an ongoing social relationship wherever a user happens to be. The days of brochure-ware have been over for awhile. It’s time to think about what it means to be social–then, build a company-wide strategy that extends beyond having a website, a Facebook page and a LinkedIn profile to how you strategically use human resources, marketing, sales and the web to build social relationships.

–Jen Travis

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Of course, the first step in social marketing (or really any pursuit) is knowledge:  know your company and how it interacts, and know your customers and how they buy.  If you sell hardware in a residential neighborhood, your networking strategies will be very different from an owner who sells vintage clothing near the university.  Both brick-and-mortars are seeking to drive sales and awareness but their customer demographics, technographics, and buying patterns are widely different.  Consider also that a vintage clothes enthusiast might be more likely than a hammer buyer to see their purchase as making them a part of the store’s community and thus be more inclined to include the business as a part of their online network.

Given that you know who you are and who you serve, the challenge is then to tailor your online presence to build and strengthen your customer relationships not only by providing an integrated brand experience to reiterate your key differentiators but also by creating and delivering greater value for the customer:

In the end, remember that today’s consumers demand authenticity.  Social networking adds an additional level of challenge to that requirement because, online, customers interact directly with your business as if it were one of their Friends.  They are not simply looking for a product or service but instead an experience – and only those businesses that provide such will succeed as social marketers.

– Dan Liska

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Most of us don’t have the resources to pull off intricately orchestrated marketing campaigns like Coca-Cola’s Expedition 206 or for a full-time engager like Lee Aase, Mayo Clinic Social Media Manager .

I say, so what! You can do some Internet research on your own to see what’s going on in your market space and what (if anything) is being said about you. You can start a Facebook page and build it up over time. You can join the throngs on Twitter and tweet when there’s something relevant to say. Start with a goal, create a plan and then stick to it. Be realistic about how much resource you can devote—even if it’s only 2 hours a week.

Why now? Because the world isn’t going to come rushing to your door the minute you get engaged. Just like any new friendship, it’s built in phases. First you meet, then you go out for coffee. If there’s chemistry and they find you interesting enough, your new friend might invite you to meet some of their friends…and so it goes. Brand community-building is the same. One-by-one steps that deepen the relationship.

If you don’t get out there now, your competitors will be out there tempting your customers to have coffee with THEM. You’ll have to dive in at some point—so why wait?

Your friend, Beth Woolley

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Would having an online forum at this stage of our development (early-stage startup) provide any value add for users visiting our website?

We are just starting to push our new solution. What should we be talking about to start building a community?

The sooner you engage customers, the better. If you can engage prospects—even more better. Value add will occur if you referee an honest dialog about your product/solution—which includes incorporating feedback into product development and customer service, and calling that out via online communications. When customers experience that their opinions and needs result in actions, they experience you as a full participant in their community. This tends to make them stick with you—and tell others about you in their online and offline travels.

That said, how do you start building that community? Community-building online is as much about where as it is about what. Here’s a good, high-level article on the subject: http://mashable.com/2009/08/25/whole-foods/. It doesn’t matter how big or small your organization is, the key is to focus in on where your audience hangs out and add value to those conversations (whether it’s commenting on someone else’s blog or starting a Facebook page for your business). You can’t control a brand community but you can help shape it by delivering something of value to its members.

Anyone out there have some additional suggestions? Please comment.

And, we’re closing the survey at noon Wednesday, 9/2—so if you want to get your two cents in and have a chance to win that Flip video camera, take a few minutes to complete the quiz (scroll down a couple of entries and you’ll see the whole thing).

Beth Woolley

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• Keep your website content current and reflecting your brand
• Actively engage customers in ways that are meaningful to them
• Or, both

Which leads to this question posed by one of you:

• How can we get our customers and prospects more engaged on our blog and other social networks?

There’s no such thing as “build it and they will come.” Yes, first you build a website that gives visitors a true experience of your brand (through navigation, functionality, content and a visual look and feel that’s designed to meet your visitors’ reasons for coming to you in the first place). But the content is also important. It has to be meaningful, interactive, engaging and relevant (and somewhat fresh, so that they have a reason to visit more often than once). Content gives visitors a reason to believe that you are thinking through what’s most important to them.

Once you have your hub (your website) built and aligned with your brand, get out there and find, listen and engage in social networking. Just like you do for real-person encounters, research where your customers and influencers hang out online and start there. Join their community. Build trust. Say something interesting and drive them to your website or blog. If it is current, authentic and engaging that will inspire visitors to either join your blog conversation or mention you somewhere in their network. That’s how it works. It takes time, patience and a penchant for listening, but it pays off when you realize you are not just part of the conversation, but are the subject of conversation.

What are your thoughts? Do I make it sound too easy? What are the barriers you face in building your online presence?

If you haven’t taken the quiz yet, help keep the conversation going and give yourself a chance to win a Flip video camera all at the same time (just scroll down the page)…

Beth Woolley

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