Integrated Marketing Communication Social Tools: The Conversation Prism By Brian Solis

So many tools so little time. I’m sure by now you’ve seen the conversation prism by Brian Solis? And I wonder how you are integrating the social tools in your life to provide solutions that add value?

Marketers see social tools, digital online tools as means to an end not the end themselves. Instead of getting caught up in social media infatuation or tool and tactic obsession they stay clear. Clear on their goals, the key activities needed to drive client engagement, employee document sharing, sharing of content, page one in Google, growth of the email list, more subscribers, a 20% trial rate on a new product, 50% more coupon downloads, more first time guests. They define success for the organization, company or venture and then evaluate how different tools might fit into their playbook at different seasons of the games, as a part of a clear strategy.

What is your goal? What is your major challenge, opportunity, problem when it comes to engaging with clients, prospects, employees or future employees, community members, peers? What is the key activity, behavior you want to encourage, impact? Are you clear?

Let’s practice:

Problem/Opportunity: We want to be an expert and we have the knowledge but no one knows we are the expert.

Solution: A socially integrated blog/website to allow us to produce content to win keywords, to provide quality content in an easily consumable fashion that is readily shareable for our tribe. Blogs are great tools when content/expertise/engagement/keywords are the issue; WordPress, Blogger, Typepad, Movabletype

Problem/Opportunity: Unconnected, out of the link, not in touch with our consumer, prospect, want to be where our tribe is hanging out, where our client is.

Solution: Social Networks: Facebook, Linked In, My Space, Orkut, Idealist, Changemakers– not only are there large social networks there are social networks for niche affinities like knitting, scrapbooking. Can’t find your clients online go to a network and check out the groups sections…

Problem: You Want to connect with other Do It Yourselfer’s. You want a platform, a community tool to create your own online community.

Solution: Do-it- yourself and white label social networks; Ning. Cisco EOS. Jive. Crowdvine.

Problem: You aren’t getting enough engagement, feedback, you want to meet others interested in your area of expertise, you have questions you want answered around a specific topic, content, affinity, product, service – etc,

Solution: Create a forum, use a forum, crowdsource for information, develop a group. Simple Press the Forum for wordpress, Google Groups, Linked In Groups, Lefora, Yahoo Answers, Tangler

Problem: You need cool photo’s, you want others to see your photo’s, you want a place to to organize and upload photos.

Solution: Flickr, Picasa, Photobucket, smugmug, facebook photo’s

Problem: You want to create your own video channel, use videos in your communication, access video around your topic , view video, store video

Solution: You Tube, Metacafe, Vimeo, Viddler

Problem: You want to get your content out to the world, syndicate it, have access to the most popular news stories of the day.

Solution: Crowdsourced Info/News; Digg, Reddit, Newsvine, Yahoo Buzz,

Problem: You want to have real time search on keywords to identify the key influencers around the world on your topic.

Solution: Real time search; Google, twitter, backtype, social mention, collecta

Problem: You want to livestream events on the web for little or no cost.

Solution: ( episodic or livecasting) Ustream.tv, Blog .tv, Justin .tv, Mogulus

Problem: You want your community to have access to the best information online when it comes to your topic but how?

Solution: Create social book marks; Diigo, Delicious, StumbleUpon, Evernote.

Problem: You’re client like’s audio, mp3 recordings but you don’t own a radio station or have a radio show.

Solution: Audio livecasting and podcasting; Blogtalk Radio, itunes, podcastalley, talkshoe

Problem: Your a new business and you need client reviews and testimonials to help get the buzz out.

Solution: Crowdsourced rating and review sites; My trip advisor, Yelp,citysearch, Epinions, w#mce_temp_url#s ( there are crowdsourced rating and review sites for nearly every industry-)

Problem: You want to aggregate information from key sources and be alerted to information online around key words;

Solution: Google Alerts, Google Reader, Peoplebrowsr, tweetdeck, Seesmic Desktop, Googlewave, popurls.com, ceoexpress.com

Problem: You need a customer management tool, you want to take your crm tool to the cloud…

Solution: Netsuite, Salesforce.com, Bantam, ToucanCrm, ( search by your industry with CRM)

So get my drift? Social/digital marketing tools are here to help you engage and converse. They are not ends in themselves- but rather means to ends.

Here’s a great visual of the current social media/social digital tool landscap, the conversation prism by Brian Solis. Social Marketing; it’s a conversation. It’s engagement.