Moving your brand to social media

If the recent Social Habits study from Edison Research taught us one thing, it's the fact that social media isn't going anywhere. Indeed, the research showed that more than half of all Americans have at least one profile on a social network.

Furthermore, the data goes on to point out that during the past two years brand-following behavior has doubled.

However, while most businesses report social media activity at some stage, few larger organizations are fully integrated. Among small businesses, studies continue to indicate that more than half don't even have a website - and those that do aren't connected to social efforts.

With social-media adoption exploding and creating an incredible opportunity for marketers, the need for new skills is more critical than ever. That's the key reason for the Social Brand Forum, set for Oct. 17 and 18, at the Coralville Marriott Hotel & Conference Center.

Social media itself is a vast subject. To stay on target the following principles were developed to bring the best to area businesses.

+ Building more social brands - More than an extra ingredient you add after the fact, social media should be an integrated part of your overall brand experience. That's why the event is called the “Social Brand Forum.”

+ Focus on the Cs - Social media is best broken into two core areas - content and conversations. The latter is what most people think of as social media.

However the former, content marketing, is a key linchpin and one that Social Media Examiner's data still shows that most marketers struggle with - the creation of engaging blogs, e-books, videos and the like.

+ Don't forget the Ms - Businesses seeking to take their social media operation to the next level quickly arrive at the need for more advanced methods of monitoring brand sentiment on social media and measuring the impact of social media on the bottom line.

+ No one size fits all - There's no global social media approach that is applicable for all businesses large and small. What works for small businesses won't necessarily work for larger businesses or business-to-business companies for that matter.

Diversity in content is key.

With these guiding principles in place, we're putting together an action-packed event that meets all these needs for Iowa businesses seeking to expand their social-media use.

The critical issue of content marketing is addressed with headlining speaker Ann Handley, chief content officer at MarketingProfs and co-author of the book “Content Rules.” Handley is also Forbes most influential woman on social media.

Picking up on the “conversations” side of the social equation, are speakers Mack Collier, founder of #blogchat - the world's largest Twitter chat - and D.J. Waldow, while expert panels will dig deeper into specific areas such as monitoring and measurement.

Other speakers will be announced soon. (Register at www.socialbrandforum.com.)

As the Edison data shows us, it's no longer a question of should your brand get social. With each passing year, consumers are turning more frequently to the social web to get their questions answered through conversations and helpful content.

Will your brand be there for them?

Be prepared.