Social media is not a marketing tool and it’s not a popularity contest. Within the first few pages of her book, Renegades Write The Rules, social media consultant Amy Jo Martin (@amyjomartin) skewers a few of the more popular misconceptions about social media.
Martin has worked with sports celebrities such as Dana White, Dwayne Johnson and a whole host of basketball players. She’s the master of going far beyond a simple tweet including engineering Shaquille O’Neal’s retirement via social media. She also has over a million followers of her own on Twitter, no small feat for someone who isn’t famous.
So what are Martin’s magic tools for success? Admittedly she has a bit of a bump because she’s been working mostly in the intersection between social media and sports, a pretty sexy arena and one that people are already interested in.
Overall, she beats one of my favorite drums, the call to authenticity. To succeed in social media you have to be willing to experiment and to fail at times. Martin mostly chronicles successes in her book, but does say that at times being open to being uncomfortable and feeling a bit “out there” is part of the process.
One of the things that is particularly useful about the book is that she talks a bit about voice. For example, for Dwayne Johnson there are several areas of focus, what Martin terms value buckets. Value buckets for him include education, inspiration, entertainment, exclusive information, and reciprocation. Just about everything he talks about on Twitter falls into one of these categories. Martin proves that it is possible to communicate with multiple audiences across the same platform but personality has to remain relatively constant.
Of course one of the main discussions about social media is always metrics and return on investment. Should you share Twitter metrics about your brand with your fan base? One of the benefits of social media is being able to gather data/feedback in real time. It can used internally but also externally, not just by sharing/retweeting individual tweets but by providing details such as how many people have tweeted about a particular thing/event/product.
The offline experience strengthens the online relationship dramatically. All of this can lead to creating lifelong fans. Martin describes a Phoenix Suns tweet up that rewarded fans with special access. Those fans will never forget that event and will likely be fans for life. Trust cannot be bought, sold, or finagled. Revenue per fan is an important metric and one to cultivate. The amount of followers is less important that the intensity of that relationship.
When it comes to company social media plans, the famous advice from Zappos really says it all: “Be real and use your best judgement.” You can’t succeed in social media with inauthentic and canned messaging. Martin’s worldview is a bit rarified. She works with cool brands, celebrities and others that it is rather easy to generate buzz about. What she doesn’t really give advice on is how the average unknown can make it to the big leagues. But if you are a true renegade you must forge your own path.