Social Media Primer

Written By Ted Grigg

We hear the term "Social Media" everywhere these days. But has anyone bothered to define what this is in a simple brief that covers the present state of the social media phenomenon?

Yes and no. 

I am borrowing heavily from an e-book published iCrossing called "What is social media?" that was updated in January of 2008. It's over 35 pages long!

So here is my proposed summary.

This quote coming out of the e-book gives an excellent description of social media. 

A good way to think about social media is that all of this is actually just about being human beings. Sharing ideas, cooperating and collaborating to create art, thinking and commerce, vigorous debate and discourse, finding people who might be good friends, allies and lovers – it’s what our species has built several civilizations on. That’s why it is spreading so quickly, not because it’s great shiny, whizzy new technology, but because it lets us be ourselves – only more so.

Businesses need to engage with people at the emotional level to build loyalty and customer advocacy. That explains why marketers focus so intently on finding new ways to apply social media.

The examples of the various forms of social media listed below start the process of understanding, organizing and cataloging it.

-Social networks like MySpace, Facebook and Bebo and the business focused social network LinkedIn

-Blogs

-Wikis. A communal database like Wikipedia

-Podcasts. Audio and video files for promotion or for sale like iTunes

-Forums

-Content communities like Flickr, YouTube, del.icio.us

-Microblogging like Twitter, six apart, Jaiku

Who knows what the social media landscape will look like a few years from now.

One thing is certain, social media is here to stay. And it will continue to grow as a marketing force. 

Can you suggest other definitions for social media? What do marketers tend to misunderstand when they look at considering social media as a part of their marketing initiatives? 

Ted Grigg

Ted Grigg is a direct response strategist who helps growth-focused companies reduce risk by identifying weak assumptions before they become costly mistakes.

Over the course of his career, Ted has evaluated several hundred million dollars in direct response testing across direct mail, digital, print, television, telephone, and other channels. His work combines direct response strategy, acquisition economics, customer analysis, creative evaluation, offer development, and disciplined testing.

Ted has worked on both the client and agency sides of the business. That experience gives him a practical understanding of the pressures facing executives, marketing teams, agencies, and service providers—and of the problems that arise when activity, media volume, or creative preference replaces a clear economic objective.

His consulting work helps organizations examine such questions as:

  • Are acquisition goals economically realistic?

  • Is the allowable Cost Per Sale supported by customer value?

  • Are targeting, offers, creative, media, and response paths working together?

  • Are tests structured to produce reliable business decisions?

  • Are unproven assumptions being treated as facts?

  • Is the organization measuring sales outcomes rather than convenient proxies?

Ted’s experience includes the development of direct mail and multichannel acquisition programs for insurance, healthcare, financial services, technology, nonprofit, manufacturing, retail, transportation, communications, government, and business-to-business organizations.

For a national direct-to-consumer insurance company, he developed a direct mail format that defeated established controls and helped expand the productive use of compiled prospect lists from less than 10 percent to more than 30 percent of total direct mail circulation within one year. He also planned Medicare lead-generation programs for more than 60 regional and national HMO and PPO organizations, with some programs exceeding sales projections by as much as 60 percent.

Ted founded Wyse Direct, a direct marketing division of Wyse Advertising in Cleveland, where he developed acquisition programs and helped launch a new technology product for Seiko Instruments by generating a predictable flow of qualified sales leads for its national sales organization. As vice president of new business development for the Grizzard Agency, he helped broaden the agency’s strategic capabilities and pursue new commercial and fundraising opportunities.

He is the author of The HMO/PPO Marketing Plan—A Step-by-Step Guide, published by Executive Enterprises, and has written numerous articles and conducted webinars on direct response strategy, testing, creative development, and marketing economics.

Ted earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Abilene Christian University and completed two years of graduate study at Texas Tech University. He is the founder of DMCG, LLC.

http://www.dmcgresults.com
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