Thought Leader Thursday – Chris Brogan

Posted by Wildfire Marketing Group | August 6th, 2009

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Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge with us today Chris. You’ve helped thousands of companies to improves their social media marketing through consulting, your blog and your newsletter. Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you ended up as one of the leaders in your industry?

It’s weird to talk about, because I was doing this for over a decade for my own interests, and without a business plan in mind. I just realized that these tools like blogging and social networks and presence applications like Twitter gave us a way to interact that really helped bring together like-minded people. To be honest, there was no industry when I started. I’m not a marketer or a PR person by trade. I’m a technologist. I just applied my business communications passions with my use of the tools, and built useful connections along the way.

I think a lot of people misunderstand social media and end up falling into one of two groups. Those that try to cram their message down everyone’s’ throats at every possible opportunity, and those that are too passive and fail to leverage their efforts from a marketing perspective. How does someone find the right balance?

Social media is a toolset. If people are hoping to find a way to market and do business through these tools, it’s important to blend what you’ve mentioned above. Here’s a starter trick: Listen more than you speak. There are great tools to let us search blogs, follow information streams, and listen to services like Twitter. If you learn how to listen, then speaking will come more naturally.

There is a tremendous and growing number of social media channels available today. Someone could easily spend all day using just a small portion of what’s out there. Which sites are going to give a marketer the best response for their time?

Right now, Facebook and Twitter are the big ones. You could say that blogs haven’t gone away, either, but those require a lot of blogger relations skills (that seem to be lacking in typical PR firms). A nice blend of blogging, tweeting, and use of social sites like Facebook is a simple layout for potential success.

Social media marketing doesn’t just apply to what you do on websites like Linked In or Twitter; it really applies to any online interaction with others. What tips do you have for a new company with little or no recognition to reach out to other key players in their industry, and what common mistakes should they avoid?

Companies would do well to build simple profiles of users they’re tracking to better understand their target. Read my last 10 blog posts. I don’t write about software very much, so I’m not your target for that. I don’t write about food more than once a month or so, and even then tangentially, so that’s no good. I do evangelize quite often, so I get a plus for that. See where I’m heading? That’s the best way to learn about people. As for mistakes to avoid, don’t bullhorn the room. Get to know people. Talk about them first. And then if there’s a reason and an opportunity, introduce your product or service in a very glancing and easy-to-ignore way. (To start.)

We’ve all seen companies make mistakes that cause a huge backlash throughout the online communities, such as the recent case where Horizon Realty Group sued a tenant for $50,000 because she inferred that they didn’t care about mold in her apartment. If a company finds themselves in a similar situation, what is the best way to use social media for damage control?

Use the Three A’s of good customer service: Acknowledge, Apologize, and Act. Do it fast. In a world that has Twitter, 24 hours is far too long for a response. Figure out all the angles and go from there. Be quick and decisive. If you make a mistake, own it.

You recently launched your newsletter and already have over 6,000 subscribers. Are you working on anything else new that you’d like to talk about?

The newsletter is fun because it shows the “behind the scenes” of being Chris Brogan (whatever that means), which is also a hint of where I’m going next. I’m passionate about empowering people within their companies for success. That’s what’s next.

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