The hottest tip right now in all the SM forums and the “how-to” social media guides seems to revolve around “Managing the Conversation”.

“Just manage it.  You know, just……. do it”.  

Thanks a lot.  But what exactly, is, “managing a social media conversation”?  This conversation carried over into a general discussion I had with classmates.  Managing a conversation properly in a Social Media channel typically has some ulterior motive other than talking about whatever is being talked about.  In most instances, it is a business or personality aiming to gain brand recognition via the side door – ie: a conversation about something else, usually instigated and contributed to by the person needing some recognition.

For instance, in an online marketing strategy book I recently read aimed at Real Estate developers, the author talks at length on building awareness through a managed social media conversation.  He suggests kicking off the conversation on the building developments website about the ever-growing popularity of the hip coffee shop on the corner.  In this example, he’s not talking about the development process, the construction phase, or anything else to do with the project – which is theoretically why people are even on this channel.  The point is to come up with something that people like to read about – and something relatable that people can talk back to you about.    So maybe the coffee shop convo doesn’t go so well.  Next time, try something a little bit more risqué and more likely to generate some feedback.

Realistically, the big conversations that feed themselves and grow are usually about controversial issues.  This can be thin ice for the instigator, so it’s important to remember not take a stance or provide a hardline opinion as you may offend some customers.

Otherwise, get into the Social Media channels, be a little bold, test the waters, and, contrary to popular belief, don’t talk about yourself.

The campaign was a contest for tickets to this week’s Grey Cup in Vancouver, and they modeled it after their wildly successful campaign in Green Bay and Pittsburg for the 2011 Super Bowl in Dallas.  Tickets for the event were up for grabs – all you had to do was “Like” the Vancouver Tourism page, follow the Twitter tag line “#YVRChase”, and tune into the #YVRChase Twitter channel for clues released several times per day as to the whereabouts of the Mystery Man.  The catch to the whole contest was that in order to reveal the mystery man, you had to ask him the question “Are you a Vancouver fan?”.  A parallel contest was running in Winnipeg for the Blue Bomber’s representation in the Grey Cup final.

Yes – someone did find him, but, what was the real takeaway?  People in a city known for it’s rainy doldrums and introverted personality were all walking around downtown talking to strangers!  Imagine that.

As reported by @VancityBuzz on the Twitter feed (who was a key promoter of the message and one of the places in the social media realm where people could find clues): “Saw a few people walking around Harbour Centre asking random strangers if they have Grey Cup tickets.  #YVRChase is on!!”

This was tweeted mere hours after the contest began, and already we had strangers approaching perfect strangers, sharing a laugh, and spreading the word.  In fact, the word of mouth aspect of this kind of social media initiative very likely has a broader reach and a faster diffusion than via the social media channel itself!  As an illustration, one of the winners of the NFL Super Bowl tickets for the contest held back in January was a homeless lady – no tablet, no PC, no smart phone.  She was educated and kept up to speed on the clues through word-of-mouth…a truly remarkable feat.

If anyone wants to question the impact of a well-managed social media campaign, they should probably direct their questions to the creative folks down at Think! Social Media­ – they may have a few ideas.

-       “I just can’t manage another social network.”

-       “Who needs more Facebook?”

-       “Google+ will never replace a social network that has more than 800 million users!”

I too am skeptical that Google+ can attain the same broad reach that Facebook enjoys as a social network.  However, what I did not realize is that the critics of Google+ as a social network are actually barking up the wrong tree.  The fact is that Google+ is not trying to be Facebook – it just wants to be Google+, and it almost already has you as a participant without you even knowing it.

How many times did you refer to Google Maps this week?  How many times have you checked your Gmail account today?  How many Youtube videos have you streamed in the past week?  How many Documents, Spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations are you currently sharing in the Google platform right now?

If you had an answer other than “zero” to any of the above questions, then you are an ideal Google+ target.

The idea behind Google+ is not a social network.  Rather, it is a way to integrate all your Google services into one profile, one username, and one identity.  Google+ aims to link all your Google-related online activity, thereby making it easier for a huge number of users to simply start using the other Google services they have not yet engaged without the cumbersome account sign-up, password management, and multiple identities when subscribing to new web-based networks and services.

Rolling all your Google-based services into one entity is just the beginning of the Google+ growth.  Once your business begins to understand the increased visibility in a search engine by using Google+, many will start finding reasons to be a Google+ subscriber – and from what I’ve read here, and here, and numerous other articles, it seems as though many people already have a very good reason.

Speaking of scratch, that’s exactly what was happening on the heads of six amateur SM strategists recently as we sat around our table with the blank canvas of an Internet Marketing campaign before us.   Scouring the internet for ideas on how to get started is equally daunting.  There are 1000 experts our there with 100 things to say about the do’s and don’ts of social media campaigns.

However, if you’re looking for traction, the “7 Roadblocks to a Successful Social Media Campaign” proved to be thorough yet simple enough to generate productive ideas and traction towards the first critical steps on the path to creating an Internet Campaign.   Under time-sensitive conditions, starting on something that doesn’t contribute, or, worse, has a negative impact on the campaign, is a great way to kill a lot of time and people resources, and incredibly easy to do for amateurs.

For some great traction building and sound guidance on things to be aware of when deciding on your routes to success, check out these 7 straight forward steps:

Seven Roadblocks to SM Success

“Technographic Segmentation” is certainly a useful way to define your SM strategy with respect to engaging your customers – as can be learned in the following article:

http://forrester.typepad.com/groundswell/2007/04/forresters_new_.html

However, as the demographic of the workforce shifts, the number of levels (or “segments”) will be diminishing as fast as the popularity of SM channels are increasing.  In short order, I predict, “technographics” will be a term that will be slips by the wayside in favour of a new categorization of consumers.