Earlier this week I attended a seminar/lecture at Queens College in Charlotte.  The topic was Social Media Today.  Initially the topic itself caught my eye and then I saw who the speaker was, Joshua Benton, Director of the Nieman School of Journalism Lab at Harvard.  I could not pass up on an opportunity to hear someone that is affiliated with Harvard speak about social media.

Social media is any form of online media where people are able talk, share, comment, network and bookmark online.   Most people are familiar with Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flikr, etc.  There are more and more social media outlets emerging as the online community continues to grow.

RevenFlo offers social media campaigns to all of our clients and we can customize campaigns to complement websites we design as well as existing websites.  Social media is a means of communicating with your existing customers as well as prospects.  In addition of being a means of communication, a strong social media presence can increase organic SEO as well.

Based on the large turnout for the lecture, I am assuming many people are interested in social media and understanding how to use it effectively.  It was interesting to hear his perspective, especially coming from someone who is so steeped in the print industry.  Here are the main points that I got from the lecture:

• Social Media has caused a shift in power; creating media has been removed from the professionals.  You now have an opportunity to speak directly to your consumers and prospects.
• In many cases it is free (outside of the cost of acquiring a computer and Internet access).
• You no longer need established media to each your customers and prospects- this is an insane concept if you really think about the potential that this opens up for all of us, especially business owners!
• Twitter is equivalent to a river of news- it is chronological and you can tap into it on an at will basis.
• Shift in publishing power equates to a shift in content.  Blog sites, etc-you can find all kinds of information on the Internet that may not be as prevalent in the traditional print media.
• Google has introduced real time web results-this makes updating content even more imperative.
• People are going to Facebook almost as regularly as Google.
• Twitter has an asymmetrical following.
• Many companies are experiencing success in offering incentives to clients and prospects via Twitter.
• Companies are also improving their customer service/utilizing social media to address customer service issues.

Overall I enjoyed the lecture and gained additional perspective on how business owners (in particular) can leverage social media to engage prospects and acquire clients.  I would love to hear from anyone who attended and get their feedback on the content and what new information they walked away with.