At this week’s annual SMC 3 winter meeting in Atlanta, David Tuttle, director of digital strategy at TMP Worldwide, a New York-based advertising and communications firm, gave an outstanding and informative presentation on Social Media and Logistics. He was able to “connect the dots” in a way that helped everyone grasp the potential of social media as a tool to build a business. Here are some of the highlights of what he said.
Fact #1: Facebook, the social networking phenomenon, reaches more than 1.92 million U.S. transportation professionals. That’s about two-thirds of the total number who are considered regular Internet users.
Fact #2: Those transport professionals spend, on average, 187 minutes on Facebook each month.
To David Tuttle, those numbers spell tremendous opportunities for companies that understand social media and commit adequate resources—notably an employee or group of employees dedicated to social networking. To leverage its power, social media needs to be an integral part of every business.
Every company should first understand the value and usefulness of each of the major media. Second, every business should create quantitative social media objectives and monitor the results of their initiatives every day. Third, every company should have a leader who is the social media champion, the one who directs and manages the company’s effort in this fast growing and increasingly important area.
David took the audience through the four most prominent social media sites – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and You Tube.
With 23 percent of online advertising market share, Facebook has become the dominant site for social media. Just as important—though perhaps unnoticed by all but the savviest observers—is that Facebook has improved the functionality and user-friendliness of the site to draw more businesses. Ads can be targeted to specific audiences and companies only pay for people who click on their ad.
He encouraged everyone to publish. Take the user somewhere, specifically where you want them to go. Get people to interact with your company. Be innovative by creating a blog, online polls or forums to build user traffic and interest. Be timely and relevant and “establish a consistent voice”.
Facebook has clearly moved to the forefront as evidenced by the fact that over 500 million people are users. He encouraged the attendees to look at the business value of Facebook. In addition to a personal page, he suggested that companies should create a corporate identity. He proposed that it is important to do four things:
- Make it social
- Keep it simple
- Optimize for speed
- Integrate (with other media)
LinkedIn has been specifically designed for business applications. It is of enormous value to job seekers and recruiters. Again David recommended that in addition to personal pages, companies should create corporate profiles. He encouraged everyone to build their networks to the maximum and actively participate in groups of interest to them. Don’t just sit back and watch but share information with your groups. Don’t be shy to ask self-serving questions that position you and your company as experts in a particular field.
Twitter is unique in that each tweet can only be a maximum of 140 characters. It is particularly useful if you are an expert in a specific area and are in a position to share information on an ongoing basis. This builds a “fan” base and ensures those who follow your tweets stay connected to you. He recommended that companies install Tweetdeck.com on their desktops and monitor their Twitter and social media traffic.
You Tube
David highlighted that You Tube has more than just entertainment value. It has value as an educational tool. It can be used to:
- Create commercials
- Let users know that you understand their needs
- Encourage interactivity
It is important to be authentic, have a think skin and use the site as a huge fan group.
For companies seeking a helping hand in creating their social media strategy, David’s presentation provided a valuable roadmap for success.
