From my perspective there are three main entry points into the world of social media for major brands that are currently on the outside looking in. I’m talking about official entry for the brand and not just an employee or some paid stringer setting up a MySpace or Facebook account.

Association
Organizations may enter the world of social media by creating associations with existing communities and content producers. These associations may result in sponsorships of select blogs and podcasts or campaigns and promotions geared towards communities that represent the appropriate target demographic.

Publishing
Organizations have the option of entering the conversation with their own branded presence via a blog, podcast or mixed media channel. In this instance, representatives of the organization dedicate time to creating content, publishing content and interacting with the community at large.

Community Building
Involves the creation and management of a system that allows users to create a profile, interact with other users and submit content to the community. This type of initiative requires a significant amount of planning prior to launch and a great deal of management once launched.

One could certainly argue that I’m missing a lot of potential techniques. Sure, a brand could weigh in by joining other communities or leaving comments on blogs. I’m talking about a brand saying, “We’re here!” This is only a small portion of the advice that I gave but I think it is a very important part of it.

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

1. Functionality - The features that you provide on your social network amount to a web based service. Does the service you’ve created provide the features that you want it to provide?
2. Usability - Okay, so your features are there. If those features aren’t easily usable then growth of the network may suffer. Can everyday folks easily use the features in your social network?
3. Performance - People hate slow websites. You can’t always control the speed of web page delivery to an individual computer but you can make sure there are no bottlenecks on the server side. How well does your site handle heavy loads or unexpected traffic spikes?
4. Aesthetics - Looking good is important. Are your pages bursting with too much content? Are the graphics gaudy and overpowering? Or is your presentation clean and inviting?

There are surely more than these four things to consider, but I believe that these are very important. In this case the execution is just as important as the idea. A poorly executed idea for a social network may never get off the ground.

[tags]Social Media, Social Networks, Building, Designing, Success, Characteristics[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

I think this type of situation speaks to a larger problem in the world of social media. Instead of implementing ’social’ technologies as part of a real strategy, there are many companies who are just checking the box and moving on. What’s happening is that some hired PR hack or member of their communications department thinks, “Blog. Check! Next.” Bad news.

This is not only bad news for the company, but it’s also bad news for their customers and partners. I think that creating a weak presence anywhere is bad news. Why do something if you can’t do it well? Putting up a blog and not updating it regularly is not doing it well. Especially not if you want the blog to be respected as a legitimate channel to the outside world. The lack of comments really makes the effort seem like a throw away. After all, moderating comments would take some time and effort. And no RSS feed? “Fugedaboutit!” as we used to say back in Queens.

The lesson to be learned here is a simple one. Don’t bother starting a blog unless you want to use it as a legitimate channel. Checking the box on a blog, podcast, MySpace page or some other social effort is a waste of time. You may get a little bit of press when you launch but you’ll get hammered when people take a close look and see that there’s nothing behind door number three. You’re better off waiting til you have the wherewithal to start the effort in earnest.

Companies that want to see an example of creating a meaningful channel should head over to Bill Marriott’s blog. Content is posted regularly and also provided in audio format. They have a commenting system. And they have an RSS feed. So they’ve done more over their then just check the blog box. They’ve made a conscious decision to open a channel to the public.

[tags]Social Media, Blogging, Corporate, Advice, JetBlue[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.