Universal Information Services

Chrisna Clark is the newest member of the Media Analysis & Measurement Department at Universal Information Services. As Assistant Director, Chrisna is focused on new media innovation, the convergence of social media tools, and the impact social media has on B2B or B2C engagement. Chrisna recently attended the 2013 AIM Infotech Conference and provided the following insights.

Social Media has exploded in the last decade. More and more people are using social media to communicate with one another. Instead of picking up the phone to call someone, you can check in on Foursquare, tweet, tag pictures or post a status update to your Facebook page to get your message across. Social media is no longer a mainstream trend. It’s a way of life; it has become part of our culture.

As you’ve seen, companies are investing big bucks in social media. It’s a great tool for marketing, networking, introducing new products and engaging with customers. Social media can be a great thing but it must be handled with care. Understanding the fundamentals of authentic communication is key. Unless you’re a casual user you must have a strategy in place.

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the 2013 AIM-InfoTec Conference at the Centuarylink Center in Omaha, Nebraska, a conference of marketing innovation and technology. There we discussed the importance of one such fundamental: knowing your audience.

“Marketing is about values. This is a very complicated world. It’s a very noisy world. We’re not going to get a chance for people to remember a lot about us. No company is. So we have to be really clear about what they want them to know about us.” – Steve Jobs

Yes! We do live in a noisy world. Then, how can your business thrive? How can your company get past the media clutter? You would think the key to winning the social media battle is to have the right content, knowing your market, engagement, branding and creativity, right?… Wrong, well at least partly wrong. Simply, people don’t care what you’re saying unless the message is tailored to them.

Take Nike. Nike is consistently innovative in its efforts to tailor its social media content to active and fit individuals. Their new Nike+ FuelBand bracelet tracks your everyday activity and turns it into NikeFuel. The app measures each step and burned calories. The Nike+ FuelBand wirelessly connects to your app, allowing you to see your progress on your mobile device.

As Adrian Blake of Social Media Contractors expressed, the goal for social media is to get people to take an online idea to an offline action. Nike accomplishes that goal by engaging their product and encouraging offline action.

So, think more like Nike, who understands the fundamentals of social media. Tailor your message to your audience. Just do it!