is it really a social media revolution?

While working on my SES San Jose 2009 wrap up…I noticed this clip rising in views on viralvideocharts.com.  Considering the bulk of SES, including the keynote speech by Clay Shirky AND the keynote speech by Charlene Li, focused on leveraging social media to effectively engage the “end-user”, i’m not surprised to see a clip like this percolating through the blogosphere.

There’s a few  staggering statistics @equalman throws our way…but you have to keep it in context.  Some rather smart individuals have made the argument that social media and search are evolving as two different entities, but at the same time, it’s inarguable that social media’s adoption rate is on the rise…and is here to stay.  From a brand and consumer engagement perspective, this creates several daunting tasks traditional media marketers need to confront head on.

How do I establish a social media presence for my company?

Well…besides locking down your brand name, it’s important to consider the goals you’re aiming to achieve by implementing mainstream social media channels into your digital marketing strategy. If you’re a consumer driven brand, it might just be a matter of providing the tools for B2C engagement.  If you sell Hunter S. Thompson signature coffee mugs to an exclusively Eskimo clientele…that’s a different story.

Finding a niche is crucial…and if there’s one point I would emphasize from the clip, it would be this: “78% of consumers trust peer recommendations.” Does that present a problem for the modern business owner or enterprise level entity? Not if you sell a product or service people genuinely perceive as valuable!

In most respects,  “word of mouth” has most assuredly become “world of mouth”.

How do I monetize a social media strategy for my company?

Once again, that comes down to your goals.   It’s not a great idea to sit down with a fresh company twitter profile and think about how to get more customers, clients, or accounts. You have to consider the demographic you’re targeting, the demand for information in your industry, and the centralized communities where your consumers tend to congregate.