Aug 17

Written by: Insights Account
8/17/2009 10:50 AM

by Matt Goddard

Our series continues with the third part of our social marketing framework: How social media execution can help accelerate our message. Message distribution has always relied on sharing; in fact the entire concept of word of mouth marketing was based on peer-to-peer sharing. We also know that word of mouth is very powerful because it typically comes from a credible source. Credibility shrinks the sales cycle.

Social technologies have sharing attributes and features that have changed the way we architect our content. Now, all content can be distributed with the goal of a follow on sharing action. This sharing action accelerates the message distribution. Just last week we sent out a press release about a new partnership with InfoGroup. Within a few hours this announcement was being sent to thousands of people on Twitter who in turn sent the message to numerous others. We monitored the process closely and witnessed the distribution speed and efficiency that socially engineered content can bring to an organization. Since Twitter has limitations on characters, we had to engineer the message to fit and therefore we say that the content was socially engineered for Twitter.

The Iranian election is an interesting case study in socially engineered content distribution. The challenger in the election has many supporters who are using social spaces to push messages to others. Ask yourself: How does this content need to be created to encourage sharing? Keep in mind tone, word count and call to action. Social spaces provide powerful platforms for sharing and we need to create content with this in mind.

As with any set of tools we need to continually ask ourselves: Why would someone share? What is the value proposition for sharing? What is the reason? The latter is the question that matters most and the one that we often fail to answer. Let’s be honest – your content may seem great to you but will your customers, partners and community share it for you? The answer is probably not, unless of course there is a compelling reason. Find that reason, architect your content for sharing and place it in social spaces. Then let your message acceleration begin.

About Matt Goddard

Matt Goddard is highly respected as one of the regions most sought after digital marketing specialists; his strategic consultative skills have led to numerous successes for his clients. Matt's business expertise and unique perspectives are frequently called upon by the local community to assist in the development of statewide marketing programs and strategies. Currently, Matt is working diligently with various regional companies in preparation for upcoming product launches and expansion opportunities. In addition to his responsibilities as Principal at R2i, Matt was a founding board member of the Greater Baltimore Technology Council (GBTC) and sits on the Governors Web development committee. Prior to his current role, Matt was president and co-founder of Impreza Design; he holds a B.A. from Towson University and an M.S. from Johns Hopkins University.

 

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