Yes, But Will Social Media Make Me Money?

People often say, “Yes all of this social media may be great, but I don’t have the time and besides, how do I know if it will make me any money?”

I loved Erik Qualman’s recent blog post, where he says that when people ask him the ROI question, sometimes the appropriate response is “What’s the ROI of your phone?” For social media is a way of relating and responding to people, not a Brinks truck pulling up to your customers’ or clients’ pockets. But at the same time, that doesn’t mean you can’t make money using social media as one way of engaging your customers. Qualman has posted this slide show on his site that gives example after example of companies that have grown their revenue using what are essentially free tools.

But in the end, it’s not just jumping on Twitter or Facebook or LinkedIn or the zillions of other social networks out there that is going to work anymore than when I worked in traditional media relations and people would say get me an article in the Toronto Star or Globe and Mail. That will solve it. Sure, it helped! But they still needed an ongoing communications/marketing strategy of how to reach their chosen audiences.

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. (The more things change, the more they stay the same.)

How not to bore your audience

“The fundamental things apply, as time goes by.”
                                               Herman Hupfeldt.  

A couple of weeks back now, I was fortunate to attend the MARCOM 2009 conference, courtesy of IABC/Toronto (thank you!). While I was excited to learn new social media strategies from such speakers as Rahaf Harfoush, who was a member of Obama’s New Media Team, and Louise Clements, head of sales at Facebook in Canada, it was the presentation by Arlene Dickinson, CEO of Venture Communications, and a member of the CBC’s The Dragons’ Den,  who most impressed me. It wasn’t just what she said, but how she said it. The woman gives good powerpoint! Strong visuals with clear and simple messages. This got me thinking that while the content of presentations about communications have changed in the past few years with the advent of social media, the fundamentals of good presentations have not. 

So after weeks of attending many, many talks here’s what I think makes for ones that stand out:

1. Speak at a pace people can understand.  If you feel the need to speed up your presentation in order to fit it all in, it’s likely you’re trying to cover too much for the time allotted to you. Besides, most people can only remember a few points from your presentation. So if you focus on three points and use examples, and even better stories, to illustrate your points, you’re much more likely to deliver the message you want to deliver.

2. Step away from the podium.This works best if you have a portable microphone, but even if that’s not available, most people can learn with practice to project their voice sufficiently so that they can at least have some interaction with the audience.

3. Use minimal words and exciting visuals on your slides. In a 140 character universe, it behooves us to figure out a way to communicate our messages without writing paragraphs of text on our Powerpoint presentations. 

4. Be confident or act as if you are.Even if you’re nervous as heck, it’s unlikely your audience is aware of that. One trick is to monitor your thoughts. Most often anxiety comes from thinking more about yourself than about giving your audience the information they need.

5. Make your presentation about your audience. Sure you’ve been invited to speak because you have powerful examples of Facebook or Twitter or e-mail campaigns. But it’s helpful to remember the first rule of communications: WIIFM? (What’s in it for me?) Taking some time to make recommendations as to how the people listening to you could use similar techniques with their own campaigns, is helpful to make that bridge. Read the rest of this entry »