Almost everyone knows that social media Web sites such as Facebook and Twitter can provide a deluge of information.
However, more businesses need to realize that the flow of data is best used both ways, said Peter Shankman, the CEO of Geek Factory Inc., a marketing firm in New York.
“No one seems to remember that social media is the ability to listen,” Shankman said Wednesday at the OkieSMart conference [in Oklahoma].
OkieSMart [aims] to teach businesses and professionals how to use social media to their advantage.
Shankman, who has provided social media consulting for a variety of clients, said the online phenomenon can help businesses spread their messages or take part in conversations about them.
Effective uses of social media include transparency, which builds trust; relevance, which is the act of getting information to clients in ways and places they are comfortable with; brevity, which ensures that recipients actually read the information; and a quality that Shankman calls “top of mind.”
This final quality is, in part, about building enduring brand loyalty through customer service instead of traditional public relations pitches. Shankman gave as an example his recent stay at an Omni-branded hotel. When its wireless Internet gave out, Shankman posted a complaint on Twitter.
“Within 30 minutes, people from the hotel were calling me and asking how they could make it right,” he said.
Social media users from Tulsa and nearby areas also spoke about their experiences during the conference.
John Andrews, the managing director of digital at Collective Bias in Bentonville, Ark., said he used to be the manager of emerging media for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The retail giant’s attempt to create a blog chronicling RV camping in Wal-Mart parking lots blew up in its face when it became apparent that the blog was written by employees rather than an RV enthusiast, he said.
“It’s now considered…