Elevate Your Understanding of Social Media — 8 Mandates
Kent Huffman decided to write 8 Mandates for Social Media Marketing Success to identify and explore the most important personal behavioral traits that marketers need to master in order to get measurable, repeatable results with social media.
This book is a product of networking – largely through social media.
Kent curated insights and success stories from 154 CMOs, marketing book authors, and marketing professors who are active on social media. The friendsourcing process he used yielded 28 case studies and numerous quotes from 154 innovative companies and individuals around the world – from global giants to main street entrepreneurs.
Imagine a high-energy dinner party with smart friends freely sharing lessons learned from years of practice, research, and reflection. A party where the host purposefully builds the guest list and guides the conversation. That’s 8 Mandates.
–Review by Margaret Molloy
Since publication in 2012, Kent’s book has attained a five-star rating on Amazon with 87 reviews (and counting). A dozen-plus universities like Duke, NYU, Rutgers, Syracuse, Texas A&M and UCLA now use 8 Mandates in their marketing curriculum.
Social media provides…a platform for marketers to connect with users… [T]he only real question is whether your marketing efforts are a part of their interactions.
—Jack Hird, Senior Research Analyst at Econsultancy, Page 28
The impact of social is huge. Those who ignore social media, do so at their own peril.
These excerpts from 8 Mandates will help you:
1. Start Listening
The best connections come from relationships, and relationships are ideally cultivated with listening first and talking later — not the other way around. Page 33
A key characteristic to building unbreakable relationships is investing in the relationship and knowing what is important to the other person. In order to know what is necessary to build a particular relationship, you simply have to pay attention. Page 37
2. Plan Carefully
Too many marketers jump right in and start using social media tools…before they’ve even developed a strategic plan. Don’t make that mistake! Page 43
Rookie marketers rush headlong into the fray. Set goals for social media first, then create your plan to achieve them. Page 44
3. Develop Relationships
One of the keys to nurturing real relationships on social media can be found in the manner of your engagement… Get to know you social media connections in the real world whenever possible. Page 55
If you truly want to make an impact, aim to always put more energy and attention in your “give” column than your “take” column. Relationships ARE the new currency — honor them, invest in them, and build emotional connections. Page 57
4. Establish Trust
…[S]trive to known as a thoughtful, considerate, supportive member of the social media community… [S]trive to be as transparent as is reasonable. Page 67
…[T]he way to establish trust in social media is to be authentic and use your own voice, not just the voice of the brand… This also means no ghost blogging or tweeting. Page 69
5. Demonstrate Leadership
Social media leaders…are most often valued and respected for their knowledge, experience, passion, and vision. Demonstrating leadership is probably the fastest way to create a loyal following on social media. Page 79
The most effective way to lead in social media is from the front. Social media is inherently…social. To truly seize the opportunity, leaders must actively participate, experience, learn, connect, and above all, share thoughts. Standing the sidelines will not take you or your organization very far. Page 81
6. Build Community
Effective connections with your audience are built when you provide information that’s based on understanding your market segment and your community’s needs, and by presenting those relevant morsels in a concise, easy-to-digest way. Page 91
The market — your customers, prospects, influencers, competitors — are having conversations about you you already. Building community helps you encourage, monitor, participate, and even shape the dialogue. Page 92
7. Ensure Value
…[T]o ensure value in social media…act in such a way that you and your followers benefit from staying connected. This is achieved by sharing information and insights and having quality conversations that make it possible to strengthen your connections, relationships, and ultimately your own professional network. Page 104
Nobody cares about your…services except you. To ensure you deliver…value, you must create content especially for your [clients]. Page 106
8. Continue Listening (by Eric Fletcher, Kent’s co-author)
The explosion of social media affords multiple channels that give you a behind-the-scenes ear on the conversations, concerns, aspirations, and experiences of your audience. Page 119
[I]ntentional listening will identify, outline, and define the language of the closest you will ever come to a can’t-miss message. Page 122
Game-changing social media marketing plans and strategies — not to mention the path to lifetime [clients] — just might be less about beginning with a compelling marketing message and more about intentional listening. Page 123
The 8 Mandates will elevate your understanding of social media and help you develop a strategy that’s right for you as a professional. Make sure to check out Kent’s “success stories.”
Is this the kind of blog post that matters to you? Does my post contain information that you care about? Please engage me. I’ll send a copy of the 8 Mandates to the first five (5) people that comment. Make sure to leave your full name and mailing address.
Kent is an accomplished marketing and customer experience executive. He currently serves as the as the CMO at BearCom Wireless and is the founder and Co-Publisher of the Social Media Marketing Magazine, a digital publication written by leading CMOs, marketing book authors, and marketing professors around the world who are active on social media.
Eric Fletcher will address the importance of “intentional listening” on Wednesday — March 26, 2014 from 1:00 – 2:00 PM (EDT) — Register Here. For more on Eric’s background, see: WEBINAR: Top 5 Reasons Lawyers Should Blog.
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