Learning Social Media Throught Total Immersion

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This years NACMA convention brought an energetic group of marketers - their quest to learn was on how best to engage fans. Social media was discussed in multiple sessions including the best discussions that took place on the 'sidelines.' The number one question on their minds was, 'How can an organization truly get into social media?'

It wasn't about reading books or attending a class on social media - these marketers were serious. They wanted to know how they could learn social speak, what they could do to train their organizations on social engagement, and how best they could keep the fan engaged. Oh, and these questions are not just limited to my friends from NACMA but to people across industries.

To get started you need to get the fundamentals right - you need to choose and pick your engagement channels. You need to start branding yourself on these channels so your consumer can recognize you and also know why consumers should find you on those particular channels. For example if you choose Twitter or Facebook - identify what each channel represents and what the consumer should expect of each of these channels.

Jump in by researching other brands to see how they are making their way in the various outlets, look to industry experts to accelerate your efforts and keep current with consumer expectations.

Now before you release your 'social might' to your consumers, you need to get involved to learn about how to engage with social media. I can assure you that no course on social media will make you an expert. To become an expert you have to get engaged. To get engaged go listen to other 'experts' on other social media channels. Get involved by watching what others are doing and joining conversations. Set aside time everyday to observe & participate. Log in, observe, & participate - these may seem like really simple steps but you need to do it before you truly can (re)launch your own brands.

Try to practice getting your message across in 140 characters or less. Practice this with people within your organization and see what kind of response you get. Learn how to join conversations or continue conversations past one message or tweet. And most importantly keep asking your organization and your customers for their feedback.

One other personal suggestion that I have is that you have to learn how to balance your efforts in the digital space - integrating your social media program into other digital media programs. You can do even better by tying things into your traditional marketing engagement programs.

Social media is a slightly different language - you can learn it by reading a book. But to be really good at it you need to live in the land of social media and learn to speak the language. It is only done through Total Immersion. You cannot be successful in social media until you experience it firsthand.