社交媒体时代数字营销黄金法则

    对于那些希望在互联网上获得关注的公司而言，数字时代的关注就是“赞”、“微博”和“浏览量”。受众是衡量品牌价值的新货币。但在喧闹纷乱的社交媒体、博客文章和更新之中，公司如何才能让人们注意并聆听它们的营销信息？如何才能克服公众对广告的不屑与怀疑，即便这些广告披上了数字时代的外衣？

    当然，这里有很大的障碍。但不论结果如何，这一点还是可以做到的。

    上周早些时候，LinkedIn举行了一场由营销公关专业人士参加的会议，讨论如何使用LinkedIn（这是当然）推广品牌，让它们能在网上被听到。会上满是各种营销辞令和一些狡诈的点子，比如，使用博客文章将营销信息与读者真正希望读到的内容（比如就业建议或菜谱等）融合在一起。对于那些本职工作就是给公众洗脑的人们而言，这些无疑是天籁之音。而那些被动接受这些信息的人们，则需要慎重思考Facebook、Twitter和LinkedIn上出现的内容。

    下面就是一些值得关注的要点：

    1.内容太多太多了

    在数字时代，要让自己的声音穿过所有这些喧哗被公众听到，实在太难了，特别是很多喧哗都是一些强推自身内容的公司触发的。“人们在谈论如何沦为不专心驾驶的牺牲品，”前电视主持人凯蒂•库瑞克表示。她由衷地感叹，要跟上所有这些内容，简直难于上青天。“我感觉就像一个不专心生活的牺牲品。信息实在太多了。”的确如此。一些营销者喜欢通过博客将公司信息传达出去，另一些人则避免这么做。后者不应被迫发表此类博文，这只会增加一些无价值的喧哗。归根结底：除非你有话要讲，否则就不要在社交媒体上发声。

    2.但加入对话会产生流量

    有点矛盾？但发声不一定要写长篇大论的博文。LinkedIn发言人凯瑟琳•费雪表示，在社交网络上更新状态或分享有趣的故事也同样有效。在多个网站上现身并发帖可以创造受众。但最好不要增加信息混乱，不要投入很多精力写一些很少有人看的博文。你可以写一些短而好的文字。放任不管固然可怕，但如何授权员工在社交媒体上进行分享也很重要。“员工具有难以置信的影响力，”LinkedIn CEO杰夫•维纳说。但是，等等！这不是违反了第一点吗？早已有太多的营销信息。

    3.好内容须真诚

    真实可信的营销信息才是好内容。它们不谈论一款产品，也不吹嘘正在卖这款产品的公司。它们与人对话，与它们的情绪对话。这会被听到。或者，每个人都是这么说的。“好内容总会像病毒一样快速传播，”库瑞克表示。如今她在为雅虎公司(Yahoo)主持一个数字新闻节目。安全软件生产商赛门铁克公司(Symantec)的首席技术官鲍勃•谢克解释了真实可信的基石。他从未为产品撰写文章，正因为如此，读者信赖他（或者，至少他是这么说的）。“这关乎感情，”他说。“创造内容，关乎如何捕获人们的内心。”说的没错。当然，我们不会问这些内容需要具备多大的可信度，才能代表你的公司捕获人们的内心。（财富中文网）

    译者：早稻米

    These days, for companies trying to get attention online, it’s about likes, tweets, and views. Audience is the new currency for measuring a brand’s value. But how do companies get people to sit up and listen to their marketing messages amid the din of social media, blog posts, and updates? And how do they overcome the public’s well-deserved cynicism about advertising, albeit gussied up for the digital age?

    There’s big hurdles, of course. But for better or worse, it can be done.

    Earlier this week, LinkedIn hosted a conference for marketers and people in public relations, about being heard online by using LinkedIn (of course) to promote their brand. There were a lot of marketing-speak tossed around and loopy ideas like blog posts that blend marketing with what the readers really want to read about like career advice or recipes. It was music to the ears of people whose job is its to brainwash the public. For those of you who are subjected to their wisdom, well, just think twice about what pops up in your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn feeds.

    Here are the takeaways:

    1. There’s way too much content

    Getting heard through all the chatter is tough in the digital age especially when a lot of the chatter is corporations trying to promote their own agenda. “People talk about being the victim of distracted driving,” former television host Katie Couric said, bemoaning how difficult it is to stay on top of all the content that’s out there. “I feel like a victim of distracted living. There’s just so much out there.” Amen. Some marketers love blogging to get their corporate message out and others shy away. The latter shouldn’t be forced to blog because they’ll just be adding to the babble. Bottom line: Don’t go on social unless you have something to say.

    2. But joining the conversation generates traffic

    Paradoxical right? But speaking up doesn’t have to involve writing long blog posts. Catherine Fisher, a spokeswoman at LinkedIn, pointed out that updating a status on a social network or sharing an interesting story can be just as effective. Showing up and publishing on multiple sites can generate an audience. Better yet, you don’t add to the clutter or invest a lot of energy writing blogs that few people will read anyway. You can just do something short and sweet. And, as frightening as it is to let go, it’s important to empower employees to share on social media. “Employees are incredible influencers,” said LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner. But wait! Doesn’t that violate rule one that there’s too much marketing babble out there already?

    3. Good content is genuine

    Good marketing messages are authentic. They don’t talk about a product or boast about the company selling it. They speak to people and their emotions. And that gets heard. Or so everyone said. “Good content always goes viral,” said Couric, who now hosts a digital news show for Yahoo. Bob Shaker, CTO of security software maker Symantec, explained the underpinnings of authenticity. He never writes about the product, and because of that, readers trust him (or so he says). “It’s about emotions,” he argued. “Creating content is about capturing people’s hearts.” Good to know. And of course, we won’t ask how authentic it is to capture people’s hearts on behalf of your corporation.