About 25 people attended our presentation on Wednesday, June 17th on Web 2.0 Social Media/Networking, etc. The hour-long session was free to members; In addition, a number of non-members joined the group. We were pleased to have David Atkins, who sits on the Americas Board of HSMAI, join us for questions and comments after the viewing.
There was a lot of material in the webinar to absorb in one sitting. Seven basic areas were covered with specific sites and actions suggested. The major focus of the program was on search engine optimization of social media. This puts your property/company on the first page or in the first few selections that pop up when consumers are searching (e.g., by using Google, etc.) for your area, your product, or service. Some of the suggestions included tagging all the pictures on your website, submitting items to Wikipedia, posting videos to YouTube, getting a twitter account, doing a blog. It was noted that 46% of people will look at between 4 and 7 customer reviews before making a decision. Do you want the customer to get the information from you or from someone else?
In essence, you must begin to familiarize yourself with the various options that exist out there. Check out what consumers are saying about you. Get to know some of the sites and possibilities. You must know the rules in each site before posting any information. As a minimum, you can verify what is listed, enhance the information, provide links to the website, and tag them with keyword phrases. Formulate a plan for your organization. There are many ways to do this.
David Atkins offered some insights for us after the webinar. As some of us discussed afterwards, there is no such thing as a Social Media "Expert"; they all just know different bits and uses. David shared in an informal manner some of what he sees on a daily basis. He thinks that the best bet is to focus on the core business/consumer/visitor and objective, then view Social Media (or any media) thru that lens. “The key as with all forms of media, marketing and most business is to have a cohesive strategy for your business.”
For those who want more details he’s sent along a link to the Knowledge Networks data - http://www.knowledgenetworks.com/news/releases/2009/052009_social-media.html ; Another item discussed was a link to the Twitter monitor tool; This is www.twendz.com -- and there are many, many others for "reputation management" thru various Social Media platforms so you can more easily "listen" to what your customer is already saying and doing.
We also wish to send a special thank you to Stacie Faulds, our Chapter President, for hosting us at the Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB offices. See you at our July 22nd meeting at the new W Hotel or at the Hyatt Coral Gables on August 19th. Your HSMAInsider, Julie Wernick, Managing Director
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