Ask The Experts: agency:2 interview with MDC Magazine

February 28, 2011

As part of their Ask The Experts feature  Mike Filsaime of Marketingdotcom.com interviewed agency:2’s Joel Davis for MDC magazine. The interview covered a range of topics concerning social media marketing, including how to successfully utilise social media, best practice and the future of the industry. Here are Joel’s answers:

1) What should an online marketer’s primary goal be when utilising social media?

The primary goal when creating a successful social media strategy must be to maximise ROI. Social media is uniquely positioned to provide businesses with measurable results – allowing them to spend less and invest smarter. At agency:2 we believe that driving ROI must be at the heart of all social media activity.

Another fundamental principle of social media is the need to follow strict legal and ethical practices. Being honest and open is not only ethical and legal but will protect the client’s brand and online reputation. That is why all the social media marketing campaigns that we run are completely transparent.

2)  What, in your opinion, is the most effective way for online marketers to use social media?

We are obviously big believers in what social media marketing can help brands achieve. It means we can provide businesses with unique insights into their customers so that they have a clear picture of how they relate to their brand.

There are a range of highly effective ways in which online marketers could – and should – use social media to interact with consumers at every stage of the buying cycle. By listening and engaging in a timely and useful manner with the target audience, brands can enhance their proposition and drive leads.

3) Facebook and Twitter are often cited as the two primary social media sites that online marketers should use.  What other social media sites are also worthy of attention?

If you have an international brand with a global reach then an understanding of the social marketing landscape within each country is crucial.  Whether it’s RenRen in China, Mixi in Japan or Orkut in Brazil and India, you need to know the big players in each country so that you can reach these netizens in the most effective and efficient ways.

4)   What tools and software would you recommend for assisting with social media management?

We use a mix of our own in-house tools together with best of breed monitoring tools to ensure that we know exactly what is going on. Workflow and project management tools are also vital in streamlining your processes and ensuring that you are able to track and respond to all opportunities.

5)  What new social media opportunities can we expect to see over the next 12 months?

With social media continuing to grow and develop so rapidly, and in so many directions, it is always difficult to predict whether there will be a new, big start up just around the corner. However, recent developments suggest that the existing industry leaders – such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube – will refine and develop their offering, incorporating new technology, such as geo-location, into their existing offering and cementing their dominance of the market. Facebook’s development of Places and a messaging service, together with other innovative features, are prime examples of this.

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