Monthly Archives: February 2009
Social Media Case Study – U.S. Navy
On the heels of a previous post about government and social media and in light of one of my former jobs as a Naval Officer I thought it would be good to take a look at how the U.S. Navy is currently engaging the social Web.
Helena Dobbins from over at Campbell-Ewald (U.S. Navy is a client of theirs) connected with me last week to provide some insight on various ways the Navy is utilizing social media. Turns out, a lot more than I had originally known about. Currently, the Navy has a presence on YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook and Ning.
Assessment:
* There is strong branding and a solid approach on their YouTube channel, dividing video content into various topical playlists. Though some of the videos tend to be quite long, the Featured Careers playlist provides nice insight into some of the various job opportunities the Navy has to offer. In addition, the Navy Visual News Service is definitely working hard to make sure their content is present on as many platforms as possible.
* I also like how they’ve drilled down to using a Facebook page to focus on providing information and answering questions about medical careers in the Navy with this U.S. Navy Healthcare page. For a number of reasons, brands are struggling to maximize use of Facebook but this works because it focuses specifically on targeted, niche recruitment and providing a channel for easy, immediate feedback.
Navy for Moms Networking site
* Double kudos to the Navy for their Ning-hosted Navy for Moms networking site. Moms are of course a key online demographic and Navy Moms in particular happen to be the most passionate people out there (believe me, having a father that was a Navy pilot and an older brother that was a Navy submarine officer, I can attest…they’re passionate). With nearly 13,000 members and an open forum for communication and easy networking among Moms, this site is only going to continue to flourish.
If you’ve ever used Ning, you know it can be an incredible resource for feedback and input. In particular, I found this discussion thread to be quite interesting in helping the Navy get feedback on how members have found out about their Navy Moms site. This information will certainly help them focus on key areas of the Web to bolster promotion and drive traffic back to the site.
As more and more content creators surface on the social Web, new communities similar to Navy Moms will continue to evolve. Already, random people have taken it upon themselves to create Navy Wives, Navy Dads and Navy Veterans sites. It will behoove the Navy to embrace these existing communities and engage in exisiting conversations without trying to branch off and recreate the same communities on their own for the sake of message control.
* Aside from the tools above, kudos to the Navy for setting up social media guidelines from the start to guide service members’ online engagement practices. This is an important first step that can otherwise cascade into a host of problems if not addressed from the very beginning.
All around, this is a solid approach for such a large government organization and I look forward to tracking the Navy’s future online endeavors.
-Scott
Social Media – It’s All So Overwhelming
Clients say it. Your co-workers say it. You utter it to yourself now and again.
Whether you’re a seasoned social media vet or just diving in, social media can definitely be a whirlwind to tackle. Heck, just finding a consistent, agreed upon definition of “social media” can be quite the challenge in and of itself.
It certainly would be nice if there was an established methodology and single handbook to teach a newbie everything you need to know about social media. As humans, we find comfort in routine and knowing that there is a start, finish and ultimate sense of accomplishment. BUT, luckily, we also thrive heavily on creativity, challenge and the unknown.
Social media lends itself to the latter mindset. It’s important to remember that the foundation of social media revolves around basic principals of human communication and interaction. Once you have a solid understanding of tool functionality, your success in using social media becomes highly dependent on developing strategic, creative methods of outreach.
But, where does one even start?
Don’t Think You Need to Eat the Whole Pie
Social media is best served up in slices. You’re not going to learn everything in one day, one week or one year. Learning social media is a neverending process. As the Web grows and technology changes, so will our online communication patterns. Thus, don’t expect to “learn social media” and be done.
If you are just trying to find a starting point with social media there is plenty you can do to increase your social media savvy. Here are three possible ideas:
1) Read Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day, Groundswell and Social Media is a Cocktail Party. All three books will provide a solid foundation for understanding the social media landscape.
2) Find 5 blogs (3 professional/client interest, 2 personal interest) and study these blogs for 20 minutes each morning (SMUG, David Mullen and Dave Fleet would be a good start for your professional blogs). Watch how the comment flow impacts the dialogue of each post. Introduce yourself to the author and eventually begin commenting yourself. If you can’t learn to effectively listen and monitor, you don’t stand a chance in fully grasping social media.
3) Pick two tools and tackle them hard. My recommendation would be to choose between LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. Don’t just set up profiles but study the wealth of published knowledge about how to use these tools strategically. Research, research, research. Once you feel you have a solid grasp on one tool, try a new one. It’s not until you are actively engaged on these platforms that you will come to understand how they can used as key channels of communication for your business or client.
It doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Step back and enjoy each slice of the pie. Be warned, before you know it, social media addiction will take over.
-Scott
Secret Tips to Get People Talking
My super duper secret copy. So much good info, it makes you do a double take.
Word of mouth marketing has always been a vague area in my mind.
I’ve always understood the baseline fundamentals, followed the WOMMA Word and kept up on regular trends but I’ve never felt that I’ve had a complete grasp on the topic. That being said, I have a new found appreciation for word of mouth since recently finishing Andy Sernovitz‘s new book, Secret Mysterious Order of Word of Mouth.
I’ll start by saying Andy is a very smart man. I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting him in person, but I did get to hear him speak last month at BlogWell. Andy distributed a “top secret” advance copy of his new book in everyone’s takeaway bag at the conference (yes, you’re witnessing word-of-mouth in action at this moment). Right around 200 pages, this is a “must have” to add to your professional reading list.
So many of the fundamental values that make word of mouth work could easily be chalked up as common sense. Yet, every day we all overlook unique opportunities to engage word of mouth. This book shines big by making you think strategically about the key factors that cause people to talk on your behalf while also drilling down on practical implementation tactics.
Andy structures his book around five key elements that help provide a framework for effective word of mouth: Talkers, Topics, Tools, Taking Part and Tracking. He proceeds to break down each of these specific areas with key tips and worksheets to help the reader quickly put a plan into action.
In one particular Big Idea presented near the end of the book, Andy highlights the point that “Fixing problems is the most powerful thing you can do” with word of mouth. I couldn’t agree more. A perfect example is Comcast. They have proactively utilized social media as a customer service channel to reach out and tackle issues from the moment they surface. This high level of customer service and online response has created a host of online buzz, ultimately helping change public perception of their brand. The result? Happy, satisfied customers are quick to spread the word about great customer service or at least acknowledge the effort put forth by the company.
All in all, Andy’s book is an excellent, quick read that I feel provides some solid takeaways applicable for your own company, clients or projects.
Thanks Andy…and yes, I do in fact use your luggage tag.
Cheers,
Scott
