Social Media – what on earth does it all mean?

While much is spoken, written and videoed about Social Media and Web 2.0 I still found it a daunting task when I started to research the web out there to try to make sense of it for my business.

I want to be able to connect my Corporate Strategy knowledge to my Social Media knowledge as I believe the two are inextricably linked.  But if I couldn’t “get it” how could I explain to my clients.  Months of work and reading have followed but this is where I started.

When I started out I had six questions?

1. Why does my company have a website?

2. Who comes to the website?

3. Where do they come from?

4. Why do they come?

5. Do they find what they want?

6. Do we engage with them as a result of their visit?

In response I can summarise my answers as follows;

cos we have to,

don’t know, don’t know, don’t know, don’t know, don’t know

…no.

Brochureware (web 1.0) probably does more harm than good to your business as your competitors probably offer a more interactive experience to their customers.  This then is my challenge and why I have embarked on this blog and this journey to learn about Social Media and the rapidly evolving world out there.

For me Social Media is all about communicating and interacting.

Penny Power puts it very well when she talks about “Know Me, Like Me, Follow Me” in her book of the same name.  Another way of looking at it was equally well expressed by Joel Comm in Twitter Power 2.0 –  “Like Me, Know Me, Trust Me, Pay Me”.  Networks then work in many dimensions but they require time and have considerable complexity and depth.

Once we begin to understand we need a structure to understand our network, we realise we need a strategy to address that network in a coherent and organised way.

There are three ways of reaching out to your network- verbally, through video and of course, the written word.

The prime platform for audio communication is the podcast, thousands of which can be found on itunes (and other good podcast providers!).  YouTube dominates the video space and of course blogging (in all its forms including micro blogging on twitter) is an excellent example of the power of the written word.

As the weeks go on, I will share with you my exploration of the Social Web and try to suggest other sites and sources, tricks and tips to enlighten and enhance your Social Media experience.

Please share your comments and thoughts with me below.  After all this is a conversation….