Social Media Marketing Tip: Pause

Mitch Joel, president of Canadian marketing company Twist Image, recently solicited his readers in a post at Six Pixels of Separation for their best practices in social media marketing.

Dozens, if not hundreds, of bloggers are responding to his challenge. Winning contestants are eligible for prizes, though that should not be your motivation.

My contribution is easy: Pause.

Whether you are embarking on a new web venture, determining what to include on your Facebook or LinkedIn profile, or wondering where the value and ROI are in enhancing your communication from print to online, it is imperative that you pause.

Chris Brogan suggests listening is a best practice in social media marketing. He’s right, but I think before you listen, you need to pause so you ears are trained for the right sounds.

Every photographer knows the winning contest entry is not from taking your camera to a place and hoping you’ll get the best shot. Rather, by pausing and taking in your surroundings, you can train your senses for the best moment to take that shot.

After I knew I would write about pausing, I listened for other best practices in social media marketing.

Everyone has a best practice to contribute to Mitch Joel’s group writing project, including vigilance, embracing your audience, lifting up others, strategic alignment, passion, and simplicity.

Of note:

• Shel Holtz suggests marketers be inclusive: “I cite ideas and observations from brand-spanking-new bloggers and link to them.”

• Reid Givens suggests marketers add value: “Try and become a member of the community, not a king that tries to rule over it.”
• Kristie Wells suggests marketers be human: “Companies who allow me to ‘be human’ in my interactions will reap the benefits because your customers will know there is someone willing to put her reputation on the line to make sure your customer walks away from the transaction – happy.”
• Liz Strauss suggests marketers watch what people do: “Often what people say and what they do aren’t the same. Find the patterns and you’ll find the appeal of any site.”

If you would like to contribute to the group meme, here are the rules:

1. Write a blog post on your Social Media Marketing Best Practice. I challenge you to choose just one (though, you can do what you want).

2. Include links to other people who have written similar posts for this Social Media Marketing Best Practices writing project that have caught your attention, or include their insights in your own post (just make sure to give them proper attribution). You can use Technorati and Google Blog Search, for starters.
3. Link back to Mitch Joel’s blog at Six Pixels of Separation so he can organize the content. If you also email him, he’ll try to include two links back to you.
4. If you use Technorati Tags (or anything like it), please tag your post “social media marketing best practices project.”
5. Feel free to tag other people in your post to get their opinion and help spread the project.

On that note, I tag David Bradley, Max Gladwell, Jacob Morgan, Gillian Swart, and Kim Woodbridge to add to the conversation on their blogs.

UPDATE: Here are the social media marketing best practices contributed by those I tagged:

David Bradley – Be nice
Max Gladwell – Discover
Jacob Morgan – Shift your mindset
Kim Woodbridge – Reflect

Related posts:

1. Lifting Social Media Marketing with Gravity
2. How Do You Define Social Media?
3. Why Social Media is a Fad

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