I’m speaking at Social Media World Forum Africa

Social Media World Forum Africa is a 2-day conference set to happen in Cape Town over the next 2 days – 1-2 June 2011. The event will be taking place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre and will consist of workshops and free exhibitions.

The events boasts speakers from the top companies in the world, including Google, Samsung, Cell C, Avis, Standard Bank, 24.com, Quirk, DSTV, Nike, Investec, Groupon, Memeburn, Woolworths, and many others. See the complete list of speakers here: http://www.socialmedia-forum.com/africa/conference/all-speakers.

This is a global event, with similar conference in Europe, Asia, and North America.

“SMWF is continuing to evolve with our aim to deliver an event which is second to none, ensuring our audience receives the maximum potential from attending our shows. New for 2011 we have introduced panel discussion formats, tweet up panels, on stage interviews, open ‘Q&A’ portions, audience sourcing debates and break-out group discussions allowing for you to explore in-depth the key social media platforms, and how they can enhance your marketing.”

I am one of the speakers, so I hope you will be attending the event. The complete agenda can be viewed at http://www.socialmedia-forum.com/africa/conference/agenda.

Leaders have to experience Social Media

Social Media is one of those things which cannot be understood until experienced. Business leaders have a responsibility to undertake this learning.

In an interesting article, it says:

The point is that I see this digital divide all the time: We all need to do a better job making sure digital competency is not something just for “digital specialists,” but that it’s a core competency of leadership.

Partly, it comes down to a fundamental misunderstanding of what digital fitness requires. For many leaders, particularly in the business world, I think there is a feeling that you can understand digital without actually being a part of it. That just isn’t true. Digital platforms are interactive by nature. To understand them, you have to use them. To “get” Twitter or Facebook, you can’t just read a white paper. You need to Tweet, you need to have a profile, and you need to engage with your friends, family and stakeholders online. I’m not saying you need to have 10,000 Twitter followers or have a “Verified Account,” but you need to understand why these tools matter.

Is Social Media really for you?

Like anything that is hot and trendy, Social Media has seen people jumping on the bandwagon just to make a quick buck or a quick headline. Unfortunate, but true. I see the ‘wannabes’ all too often. And they actually manage to find some clients – yet it’s clear that they don’t have deep insights into Social Media. I am a Social Media Expert, if I may say so myself. And there are a number of us. We live Social Media. Day in and day out. We’re using the Social Media tools. We’re tasting the bitter and sweet tastes of this new revolution. Yet, we’re very nervous to call ourselves “Experts” or “Gurus” – and I will only do so here because this is my own blog. There has been a bad stigma surrounding those titles, because every other person suddenly became an “Expert” and a “Guru” – they made it bad for everyone who really deserved those titles. They are the bad apples. Bad apples are everywhere. Unfortunate, but true.

I found a real interesting post called Get Real Time: 44 Signs Social Media Is NOT Working for You. The post is intended to be funny, and I thought it was, but I also found some solids truths in it.

These are some of my favourite points:

4. You can’t remember the last time you got a lead online.
5. 95% of your leads are still coming from the chamber and local meetup groups.
8. You can’t understand why those other agencies are wasting time on plans and objectives? Why aren’t they tweeting and Facebooking for their clients?
14. Sales conversion funnel, what’s that again?
17. You have 500 likes on your Facebook business page but don’t know any of them because they won’t talk to you.
19. You have a blog but only write in it quarterly. Even when you did you just copied someone else’s work and added a link hoping nobody would notice and think it was yours.
20. You have resorted to asking your son & his best friend to retweet your content.
21. You have bribed your mom grandma, and great aunt Martha to login to Facebook once a week and like everything on your Facebook page
22. You could tweet with your eyes closed and sing Karaoke at the same time but can’t pay your rent.
23. 95% of your clients are either related to you or could fall in the category of BFF (best friend forever).
24. A lead with a budget? What’s that?
25. If you build client websites none of then have a sales conversion funnel either.
26. Your website knows how to tweet and you thought that would be enough.
27. You didn’t know you had to talk to your fans after the like! Why won’t they just buy something?
39. You haven’t changed or updated your web content in a year. It’s not needed as it must be working with all those followers you have.
42. You don’t understand why so many people spend money on their brand. Who cares if all the colors look the same. Social media is all about conversation anyway.

You can read the complete list here.

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Facebook vs Twitter

Facebook and Twitter are not the same. They function differently, and they serve different audiences. There are some overlaps, but there are also very distinct differences. When using Social Media as a serious business marketing tactic, it is incumbent to have deep insights into the differences between the Social Media platforms. I see the mistake everyday of people treating all the platforms equally. This is certainly a road to failure.

For example: most folks on Facebook and LinkedIn don’t understand what “RT” is. It’s Twitter lingo for Retweet, and it’s akin to a forwarded email. If you find an interesting message on Twitter, you forward it on using the RT function. I see RTs everyday on Facebook and LinkedIn. This is the result of treating all the platforms equally. It’s just wrong. Each platform is a house. We should respect the rules and etiquette of the house. That is polite.

I caught an interesting post tackling this topic. The post quoted Tim Webster as saying:

“The temptation, I think, will be to see Twitter as smaller, and therefore less important, than Facebook. Certainly, Facebook is the gateway to the masses, since it now reaches the majority. For brands and businesses, however, the differential character of Facebook users and Twitter users means that for some products and companies, Twitter might indeed be the best channel for outreach and customer communications, while for others…it might be terrible. It’s imperative for companies to cut past the hype, do their own research, and be where their users are, not where the noise is.”

And it quoted Morgan Stewart as saying:

“Twitter appeals to a niche audience. Most people simply have no interest in the real-time, condensed form of communication Twitter facilitates. However, this does not mean that Twitter’s role is insignificant or that its’ importance is overrated.

Comparing Facebook and Twitter in this manner is like comparing shopping malls and fashion shows. Malls, like Facebook, have mass appeal and are an expression of larger culture. In contrast, while only a small subset of the population actually attend fashion shows, the interactions that happen there influence the larger culture. Twitter is where online influencers congregate and share new ideas, and that alone is significant.”

I think these are brilliant opinions. Twitter and Facebook are both useful and both incumbent, but they should not be treated the same. They are different.

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Are you listening?

I love Social Media. (Like you didn’t know!) Social Media is real. It’s about real people. It’s about real relationships. It’s about real value. Wise people, the older folk, always said it’s better to listen than to talk. They said that’s why we have two ears and only one mouth. Listening is powerful. Habit 5 in Covey‘s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is “Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood.” Understanding starts with listening, right?

Are you listening online? I’m not talking about the gossip. There’s gossip online and offline. If you’re listening to gossip anywhere, you’re wasting precious moments of your life. Stop it!

I’m talking about listening to value. When I’m with older folk, or learned folk, I say little. I write a lot. I cannot afford to talk. I need to listen. I need to learn. When I’m online, I listen a lot. A talk some. But I listen more. There’s so much value in listening.

A distant family member is into crocheting. She’s been into it for a while. She also reads a lot. Someone who reads a lot, most often, can write well too. I found a job post online which said: “Crochet Writer Needed” – so I sent her the link. Maybe she’ll be interested. Maybe she won’t be. Maybe this’ll make a huge impact on her life. Maybe this’ll make no impact on her life. I don’t know. But I care about her. And I shared the link with her because it was the right thing to do.

Look what else people are talking about online (and, are you listening?):

     

     

     

     

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