Social Media 101

True or false: 
Participating in authentic two-way conversation with customers and prospects is a key challenge and responsibility of marketers today.

Answer:
True

The term “social media” has generated a lot of buzz in the business world in the last couple of years, and for good reason. Well executed social media marketing campaigns can drive sales, increase brand awareness, and even turn disgruntled customers into fans.

So, what’s the magic formula for being successful in social media engagement? There isn’t one – marketing through social channels is a trial and error process that requires consistency, commitment and creativity. The c21i team recently gave a Social Media 101 Webinar training to clients in the non-profit and trade association industries, providing them a baseline understanding of the online tools available to help their organizations listen to their audiences and engage in relevant conversations.  What we’ve found is that while the importance of having a Web site is common business knowledge, many smart, talented business professionals don’t yet understand the savvy of strategic keywords, e-mail marketing and online communities. And those who gamely jump into social media marketing sometimes need help putting a process around the implementation and maintenance of digital strategies.

If you want to:

• learn the pros and cons of various applications
• see examples of best practices in social media marketing
• or simply find out how the heck Twitter works