This is a guest post by David Murray, a marketing and digital communications strategist (and all around cool guy).
A few weeks ago I was having a conversation with Lisa Kuelian and Ani Gharibian from LA Productions, an event planning company, about taking the first steps into the social web.
Like many companies out there, they were very interested in learning more about social media and how it would relate to their current marketing practices, but weren’t 100% sure how to go about taking the first steps.
One of the best ways to help explain how social media works, is to relate it to our offline world. Forget for a moment that computers, cell phone, iPads ever existed. What did people do before these inventions of modern convention interrupted our space? We talked. We talked around the TV, barbershop, the water cooler, the candy bowl… candy bowl?? Hmmm..
Let’s think about the candy bowl for a moment.
Just about every office has one, and just about every employee will make an excuse for a sweet tooth five minute break. During this time a conversation can begin between the participants looking for their favorite piece of candy. These exchanges may not last too long, but they do happen, and they happen frequently.
The value here = candy, human interaction, a break, mental stimulus, conversation.
The Social Web works very similar. Just because you have a Facebook page doesn’t mean they will come. Just because you have a blog doesn’t mean people are reading it.
You have to provide some sort of “candy bowl” that will attract people to want to visit and talk with you. Now candy by itself won’t keep them for long. You are going to have to feed your visitors with some value and substance. Otherwise they will simply get fat and hate you for it…
Seriously, what you have to do is pique their interest (candy), listen to what they are talking about and sharing (what candy they are eating), and give them a reason to return (not just more candy, think prime rib).
What you are essentially doing is creating a value buffet which your visitors will find yummier than the candy you leave out day after day and eventually gets stale. And they will wait for the main course, because they trust you. Now you will be in a position to play with your social media menu and experiment with what works and what doesn’t.
That’s what this whole thing is really about anyway. Trying things. Stumbling. Trying again.
So go out and fill your candy bowl. Pay attention to who stops by. Pay attention to what candy brought them there. You’ll soon recognize that as you do this, you will be taking your first, second and third steps into the social web.