This week, GroundFloor Media (GFM) held our second annual South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) Denver Download, a recap of this year’s SXSWi event in Austin, with presentations from The Denver Post, the Colorado Health Foundation, 34 Degrees and GFM. There was one main theme in my portion of the presentation that is prevalent throughout this week’s reads, the importance of understanding and communicating with your audience as human beings, not as a metric or marketing profile.
Social Media
Fast Company: Does Your Company Listen to Social Media – or Simply Hear it?
This story is an extension of one of my favorite panels at SXSWi, a discussion called Spreadable Media. The most important take away is the difference between hearing and listening. Many brands are good at hearing, but very few know how to listen. Listening requires looking at the context of what people are saying and developing an understanding of the individuals you’re communicating with, not immediately turning them into statistics.
Marketing
Inc: Your Brand: What Customers Say Behind Your Back
This story refers specifically to marketing and branding, but the central theme is of utmost importance to those in social media. “Potential and current customers, investors, and employees can have a big impact on your company’s fate just by making an offhand comment about your business. And what they say about your business becomes your company’s brand.” We don’t own our brands, our brands are owned and live in the mind of our consumers, and we can help shape them by having the right conversations.
Techcrunch: LinkedIn Finally Lets Users Tag Each Other in Posts and Comments
LinkedIn is quickly changing from just a resume-swapping tool to a great place for unique content and engagement with other professionals. Today’s announcement that the platform will now allow users to tag others using the @ symbol fills a huge void in communication for users. It’s time to make sure that LinkedIn is a part of your content strategy.
Google+
Social Media Today: A Google+ Overview: Breaking Through Misconceptions
Stuck trying to figure out how you should differentiate your strategy and content on Google+ vs. Facebook? This infographic gives a great breakdown on the variances in demographics between the two platforms.
Mashable: Twitter Relaunches Twitter for Business, Offers Companies Tips for Success
Twitter continues to create new ways to encourage both brands and individuals to spend more and more time on the platform with the relaunch of Twitter for Business and the creation of new multimedia “cards.” The cards are designed to keep users within the Twitter environment when consuming content which will, in turn, make them more valuable to advertisers big and small.
What GFM Blogged About This Week…
NBC Spat With Emanuel Brothers, Hickenlooper Outburst
Trust in America: Are We Really More Cynical Than Ever Before?
