The Five Pillars of Social Media Marketing

Monday, October 30th, 2006;
-- Ben Wills |

>>Need help with social media marketing? Hire Andy Beal today!<<

So, in the late, late nights that I’ve spent making sense of and organizing Social Media Marketing, I’ve been able to find nothing that outlines strategies or fundamentals of Social Media Marketing. Yes, Rohit Bhargava created a post that kicked into gear the “5 Rules of Social Media Optimization (SMO).” After 20 days and much buzz in the blogosphere, it was expanded into 17 rules, with additions from all over the online marketing and business community’s thought leaders. And yet, while it’s an absolute must-read, there’s still no strategy outlining the fundamental strategies or tactics of Social Media Marketing.

That’s what I’ve racked my brain to figure out and this is what I define as the Five Pillars of Social Media Marketing.

The Five Pillars of Social Media Marketing

Any and all forms of Social Media Marketing tactics fall under at least one of these five forms of action. Often the same channel will incorporate two or more of these:

  1. Declaration of Identity
  2. Identity through Association
  3. User-initiated Conversation
  4. Provider-initiated Conversation
  5. In-Person Interaction

Identity-based Interaction is your declaration of your value, who you are, and where you can be found. Your customer happens upon your online identity that you, as a provider, define and declare. This is anything from your About Us pages on your blog or website, to your MySpace profile, to your Naymz profile. Here, there is very little interaction outside of your own declaration, but this becomes critical in defining how you can benefit your marketplace.

There has been a recent outcrop of websites created purely for this function. An expanded business card, if you will. Most also include the opportunity to link to your other forms of presence online, bringing together your presence in one place…well, kind-of. They include:

Association-based Interaction is your customers’ opportunity to associate themselves with you and you with your customers. Most obviously, this is accomplished through things like becoming “Friends” on MySpace, you and your customers’ BlogRoll, or through their social bookmarking. This is your customer wearing your company’s logo proudly - Like Andy wears his Beatles shirts.

The most explicit form of allowing for this ability is through social bookmarking sites. I say this, and not social networking sites, because this is the sole function of these sites. Make it easy for your customers to bookmark your site, blog posts, etc with their favorite tool.

User-initiated Conversation is your users’ opportunity to create their own declarations or questions, and your opportunity to respond. This is your opportunity to be there and cater to them. Here, you serve your customers.

Perhaps the most cut-and-dry examples of this lie in messageboards, forums and “groups” sites such as Google Groups, Yahoo! Groups, community sites, etc. So, how do you find these conversations? Andy Beal’s Online Reputation Monitoring Beginner’s Guide. Here, he walks you through, step-by-step, how to find out what conversations are being initiated by others online.

In order to get directly involved with your customers, the most well-known example of this is “GoogleGuy” on the WebmasterWorld forums, is through your users’ forums, and sites such as:

Provider-initiated Conversation is your chance to find out what your customers think, feel, love and hate about your product. Ask them. Challenge them. Present yourself to them, but do so respectfully. As much as it’s an opportunity for them to tell you what they love and hate about your product, it’s also their choice whether to do so or not. Be kind. Be respectful. Appreciate their time.

Although it’s not a primarily online company, there is one company that has made this their culture. Seeking feedback and input from its customers 24/7/265. And it is: Current.tv. There’s little-to-no format, except for about half of the content is contributed by its users. If you haven’t seen it or don’t have digital cable, find someone who does and watch it. Do that this week, you won’t regret it.

Social networking strategies for connecting with your customers can certainly be complex, tricky and cumbersome, so I’ll be writing up strategies in the very near future to hopefully assist on those fronts. In the meantime, find your customers and interact with them here:

In-Person Interaction is the pinnacle form of interaction with your customers. You’re interacting with them online, why not in person? Does it get better than that? This is where relationships are built and authentic conversation is had with so much more input, feedback, collaboration and communication. I had a seven hour conversation with a good friend last night. It was one of the best conversations I’ve ever had about so many things, and I could have never had that quality of a conversation online. Nothing beats face-to-face.

Get out there. Meet your customers. Let them interact with other customers. Build your community. Go to conferences…better yet, organize your own gatherings.

To help this along, coordinating, managing attendee status, etc, there have been several sites that can help in either finding local events or coordinating your own:

Final Thoughts

One thing about social media marketing: It’s complicated for two reasons: no one has created a structure to work from, and there’s so much overlap in functionality of different sites, that it can be quite confusing as to a site’s single purpose because…well…there usually isn’t a single purpose.

Don’t let this hold you back. Get out there. Spend time with these sites. Sign up, Use them, meet your customers, talk to your customers, and LOVE THEM.

But wait! There’s More! Feel free to use my Social Media Marketing Tactics chart (on BenWills.com) to make sure your next campaign is a success.

>> Liked this post? You might also want to read our Social Media Marketing Beginner’s Guide <<

** Are you the next big name in search marketing? Enter our SEM Scholarship Contest & you could win $10,000 in prizes!

54 Responses to “The Five Pillars of Social Media Marketing”

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  9. Let’s take a closer look at Marketing Pilgrim’s SEM Scholarship contest « SEM SEO Certification Training Says:

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  10. The Business of Social Media Optimization » TP Says:

    […] Posted by Dave on 07 Nov 2006 at 05:34 pm | Tagged as: Uncategorized Social media marketing is so painfully new, and there is such an unfocused buzz around it, that it is easy for the laybusinessperson to get completely overwhelmed. Is there any difference between SMO and SMM, for example? How can MySpace and Digg both be categorized as social/new media when they are fundamentally so very different? And, more importantly, how can I claim my own plot and start prospecting? The strokes are very broad right now, and subcategories that are going to help the layperson understand the new landscape are emerging. The best breakdown I’ve found is Andy Beal’s Five Pillars of Social Media Marketing - but I will try and form some original thoughts for the less experienced. Marketing 101 tell us to identify our target market before even getting out of bed in the morning. So boil it all down and think about which new media outlets your targets are most likely to be converging at? Let’s look at a few of the juggernauts. […]

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  14. Igor M. Says:

    And here is how you build buzz and links, ladies and gentlemen. Well …. good content as well of course.

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  18. Mayra Harley Says:

    Great read. Well put together, succinct and organized. I found it insightful. Very smart!

    Congratulations Ben!

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    […] For more information: 5 Rules of Social Media Optimization (SMO) (Influential Interactive Marketing) What’s the Big Deal With Social Search? (Chris Sherman) The Dark Side of Social Media Optimization (Graywolf) The Five Pillars of Social Media Marketing (Marketing Pilgrim) Social Media Marketing, eh? Let’s See What’s in Our Bag o’ Goodies (SEOMoz) Social Media Optimization (SMO) in 2007 (Social Media Optimization Blog) Add to feed reader | Digg this | Post to del.icio.us | Add to Reddit Posted on Sunday 7 January 2007 Filed under: Search engine marketing and Online search tools and services and All […]

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  23. BKM Blog » Blog Archive » links for 2006-11-14 Says:

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  33. Kin Lane - Social Media Marketer Says:

    Interesting perspective of Social Media Marketing.

    Curious when a business comes at it from their “selfish” perspective. What do we need from social media marketing?

    How many of the pillars go out the window? What will they compromise?

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  37. Michael Samuel Says:

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  39. Kristin Gabriel Says:

    Hello Ben: I have a blog that might clarify much of what you and your readers are looking for regarding social media marketing. We’re now in the decade of the new economy and consciousness where values are transforming society. The biggest challenge facing us is how to communicate this social transformation effectively internally and externally over multiple channels.

    Over the last five years my interests and experience morphed into cutting edge practices in search engine optimization (SEO) and social media marketing. My experience has provided me with cutting edge tactics implementing social media marketing that few marketers know how to use. In fact I have also been teaching it.
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  41. Everything a beginner needs to know about social media « Curiouser and Curiouser Says:

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  42. Dallas Web Designer Says:

    Great post. I really liked how you broke down the sites into “pillars”. Great idea. Well done.

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  48. Marketers: Why Facebook is Not the Next Google at Ben Wills Says:

    […] network users engage in an active process to socialize. It is an extension of one’s identity through their own interpretation and through the details of their social connections and […]

  49. Tom Lynton Says:

    I would like to add one more and that is “Massively Redistrutable Media”. This would be things like “Badger Badger Badger” - there are some good comments about packaging media so it can be redistributed http://www.demonzmedia.com/DemonzBlog/?p=9

    A good example is the “Dolphin Bubbles” video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMCf7SNUb-Q). I have seen this posted on many of the sites I frequent and it is brilliant content. At the same time it is a brilliant advertisment for Sea World Orlando, and every time someone reposts the video, that means another potential lead back to YouTube to read the comments.

    The conversation is important to - if you can get content that is appealing and post it on your own site with good comments, people may link to your site.

  50. Manipulate to Serve: Back Door Social Pitch » aimClear Search Marketing Blog Says:

    […] ability to identify the passionate interests of community site-users is a modern media miracle. Conversational marketing is the true promise of demographic research embodied and a pillar of social media. That’s the […]

  51. Social Media Chef | Engage in PR Says:

    […] are often conversations about where social media fits, who owns it now and who will own it in the future. I’m not one to believe in the strict […]

  52. social media marketing » secret marketing links Says:

    […] become a “me too” - establish a process and goals for how to get there. I recommend reading 5 pillars for one, and much like SEO programs that have a process (keyword research, competitive review, […]

  53. 16 Great Ways To Approach Social Media Marketing - A Beginner’s Guide « Social Media Mavens Says:

    […] become a “me too” - establish a process and goals for how to get there. I recommend reading 5 pillars for one, and much like SEO programs that have a process (keyword research, competitive review, […]

  54. Three Words Speak Volumes About The Power Of Social Media Marketing | BloodhoundBlog: Real estate marketing and technology blog | Realtors and real estate, mortgages, lending, investments Says:

    […] THAT is an example of all how to use all five pillars in 20 characters. Thanks, Nick. You nailed […]

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