Groundswell is broken down into three parts. Part two, chapters 4-9, focuses on tapping into the Groundswell. In this post we summarize chapter five and provide some interesting content and a link to our blook report private site. The site features links to the people, companies and stories talked about in this chapter. This chapter explains how to use the groundswell for research purposes with tools like private communities and brand monitoring.
Feature Presentation: The Conversation-An Introduction to Social Media
Slide by Slide Slides 01-16: Social media defined, some Canadian Demographics (these folks are from wintery Winnipeg) Slides 17-28: Ten keys to Social Media Success Slides 29-60: Social Media Tools and Do’s and Don’ts for each (great content) Slides 61-76: Social Media Myths Slides 77-78: Three take away messages (not sure I agree with this them, do you?) Slides 79-81: Useful resources and credits
Feature Video: Groundswell Business Objectives-Listening
Video Timeline 00:14 What is listening in the Groundswell and how do you do this? 02:30 What Cancer Treatment Centers learned from patient community. The importance of the family doctor.
Top Five Things We Learned
1) Know where there are potential and existing groundswells for your industry and company.
Don’t rush into things until you’ve got a handle on where and how people are talking about your industry and your company. Determine what the Social Technographics Profile is for your product, company and industry This is covered in Chapter Three of the book. Read the blog post here.
2) Listening is a new and maybe better way to conduct market research.
This could be controversial! For those companies spending money on traditional market research (focus groups, qualitative and quantitative surveys and interviews, polls etc.) social media may be a viable alternative. For those small to medium sized businesses that conduct little to no research (there are many), social media can be a cost effective (no, not free) way to listen and learn from your market.
3) Listening is about insight and learning.
Listening is not about collecting data! It is about gaining an in-depth understanding and knowledge about your market, your customers and whoever else chooses to use and talk (or not talk) about your brand. People may not be directly talking about you or your brand, but it is probable they are talking about things that are relevant to your market.
4) Listening is the first step to change.
The group that champions listening and social media in your organization should be listened to and supported by the leaders (at the very least) within it. Take them seriously! This team of listeners will bring insight, ideas and recommendations that will likely influence strategic direction and decisions. If the leadership team is not prepared to listen and take this seriously then don’t bother starting. Tell them to put their heads in the sand and pretend that everything will go away.
5) Monitoring and Communities are the two primary ways to listen.
The social media demographics for your industry, geography and the age of your buyers will help determine where and how you should listen. Monitoring is one option where you use tools and/or services to collect and rank conversations that matter. Communities of special interest can help you understand and converse with key people with similar interests, problems and needs. This can be useful where there is some void or barrier for people to connect.
Chris Herbert is the founder of Mi6. Mi6 is a B2B (Business to Business) marketing and business development agency dedicated to helping companies build their brands and develop commercial relationships. He is the founder of ProductCamp Toronto and the Hi-tech community Silicon Halton. He tweets under the handle @B2Bspecialist.
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