Social influence and pre-Christmas satire!
Earlier this week coming back to Ipswich from London on the train, not only was I amazed at the Olympics site in London and the development of Stratford, but also by the fact that it seemed like 60% of the people on the cold, noisy, crowded, very expensive train were online via mobile devices! 60% is a lot of activity!
It’s a little ironic that I have to leave the office and step into the ‘real world’ to appreciate just how digitally inclined the whole population has become. When people talk about mobile being the way of the future, and I’ve said it myself, they are so right! If you don’t fully appreciate the amount of influence online advertising now has, think again!
Talking of influence, what’s all this talk about social influence and can we really measure it?
How influential are you?
Last weekend some friends and I had a great Twitter discussion focused mainly on Kred, Klout and social influence and I’m still undecided. Can social influence be measured? I think it can, but not very accurately, which may mean that it can’t really!
However, people do need a guide as to the professional performance of others and not just in social media. It doesn’t hurt to have an idea of an individuals social media competency if you intend to employ him or her and it would be a long process to go through all their social media platforms. Easier to look up a number and then decide whether to do any further research based on whatever that number may suggest.
You are what you do!
If you are looking for a social media manager you would probably like to see how the individual is connected, how long they’ve been connected, what experience they have and how effectively they engage. To me response has to be a given, because engagement is very different to broadcasting and if you Tweet or post comments on Facebook or Google+ or on a blog and no one reads the content or responds, it’s NOT engagement. That’s broadcasting or advertising, right?
The development of social media has taken us away from the biggest advertiser gaining the most business, that’s just old school and dull. People want engagement, they want to be listened to and answered professionally, they want to be respected as consumers deserve to be because they work hard for their money. If people make buying decisions in the 21st century they want to be sure they’re the right decisions, cognitive dissonance or buyers remorse is hopefully a thing of the past.
The latest changes, do you like them?
This year continues to see major changes in the social media scene and just last week StumbleUpon and YouTube underwent some major changes. Do you like the new StumbleUpon logo? I’m not convinced, I liked the old one! The new colour reminds me too much of another social media platform.
New look StumbleUpon
Do you like the new look YouTube? I’m not too sure, it seems to tell you less about an individual channel at 1st glance, maybe they’re just looking to encourage more engagement?
What about social media 2012?
A lot of companies have realised that social media is no longer just a phase or a fad, as I’ve said before the F-word is rarely used with regards to social media nowadays. It’s a given that to some extent or another both B2C and B2B can help their marketing with at least a little social media connectivity.
Why print and distribute brochures, magazines and pamphlets when publishing quality blog posts are cheaper, more current, more effective and stay on Google as a quality point of reference rather than end up in the recycling bin?
But where will the 2011 social media winners head for in 2012? They conquered Twitter, Facebook and possibly YouTube in 2011, but where will they go next?
My guess is Google+ for a start, then StumbleUpon and maybe even Triberr. Distribution of blog content is crucial and based on that theory maybe platforms like Twylah and Scoopit will see more traffic too. As I said back in early 2011, a blog post without an audience is just pictures and words.
Will Tumblr continue this year’s success and keep taking share from WordPress or will Posterous make a stand or WordPress get easier to use?
Company’s will all need to maintain quality blogs to appeal to audiences, Facebook and Google+ comments and links will only be the route to content and company’s will not get away with mediocre efforts.
Oh to be a blogger!
To me, a quality 100% complete LinkedIn profile and a corporate blog (websites don’t count!) are the essential foundation of any social media campaign and I believe this year we’ll see some major changes on LinkedIn and some serious corporate moves towards quality blogs and quality blogging.
Just as having a website was acceptable 15-20 years ago regardless of it’s content, just having a blog will no longer suffice in 2012. Consumers now know that a blog or a website represents a company in every respect and that if a company wants to attract quality, loyal customers it needs to create and maintain the kind of appeal the customer is demanding.
It’s going to be a very busy year ahead! If you need help call us!
If you find this information interesting, please give it a Google + CLICK and also share it on Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Digg, or whichever social media platform you prefer.
If you want to get ahead with a social media call 01473 435308 or email peter@constructionmarketinguk.co.uk and we’ll explain just how cost effective a blog can be and exactly how to develop a quality social media campaign.
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Peter,
Once again a great satire. I totally agree w/ you that Social Media is NOT a fad and won’t ever be. Now as for Klout and the other sites…not sure I totally agree that we need to be measured on our social media and more. A person can visit a website/Facebook Page/Twitter/Google+ and more to determine how active and their knowledge in the social media world. I’ve seen you as well as a few others make comments this year about Klout being down and the numbers being off. How reliable is that? Thankfully we don’t pay towards being a member because I would cancel my membership.
Keep them coming.
Hello Leona and happy Christmas to you and your family.
I certainly wouldn’t pay to be on Klout and frankly, I don’t use it much apart from saying thanks for K+’s.
I think we need some kind of guide for the general public to be able to judge people’s social media worth, usage or connectivity, I’m not sure ‘influence’ is the right word. The problem is charlatans are going around charging £1,000′s for training and they don’t even know what Klout is! This is an and I’ve experienced it 1st hand.
I tend to feel that we’re all judged on what we achieve but it’s not easy for everyone to see what’s real and what isn’t.
I hope you have a lovely holiday and manage to stay away from screens for a while. I’m going to try but I’m not making any promises.
All the very best, Peter, aka MarketingM8 (Happy New Year too!!)
Another great Blog, and so true. Thanks for continuing to provide relevant content. I agree with your opening comment about marking somebodies influence with Klout etc.. my klout score has nothing to do with my social Influence. I have noted this on many other people too, in fact the more I engage the lower it goes down. Perhaps you have blogged about how to make sense of this, I really do not take it seriously any more. I agree with Leona a person looking for a consultant (of any kind) can get a sense of what the consultant is capable of by checking out the #Fb/Twitter and Google etc and we can make it easy for them by presenting this info up front too. Linked in and a Corporate Blog at the least is a must for any one to be taken seriously and also to present their ideas regularly. I look forward to your next post.
Nadia.
Hello Nadia and a very happy Christmas to you and your family too!
I think Leona, you and I agree on the fundamentals but a guide on a social media professional’s ability does at least help unsuspecting people from rogues.
Kred may well provide the answer and we have PeerIndex too, which seems stable and it’s stability that people feel the need for I think and transparency of course.
I hope you have a very happy 2012 too, all the very best, Peter, aka MarketingM8