If you are looking at getting your self involved with the social media marketing. These 7 Cs should come in handy!!

C #1 - Context

First you need to understand the context that you will be dealing with. This could be in the form of any social media platform. But before you start engaging with them, you need to understand who they are and more importantly what is the motivation that is binding them together, socially. Example could be pure passion for technology or Bollywood or even communication that has led one individual to pursue on the path of blogging.

C #2 - Communicate

Intention to communicate - if you do not have a intention, then you might as well. Just do a cut, copy, paste job and spam the comments section of the bloggers. That is it, then your brand is at the wrath and  mercy of the bloggers. Do not try to push your marketing messages across in the social media, it might just do more harm than good.

C #3 - Conversation

You need to have a conversation , with your fellow human beings even online. My belief is that there was a time on the internet when people use to be faceless and anonymous and they use to take full advantage of it. But now these are the same people who have realised that they are not being able to handle multiple personalities. They are the same human beings. Just try to talk to them, even just greet them, they will be friends.

C #4 - Content

What does not work on the Internet is a copy. We need to be the original content providers for what we are trying to engage the Internet users into. If we copy and they find out, then our reputation online is scarred! The other element to the content is that we need to have contextually relevant content or else again, we will be seen as spammers!! The rule is customise your messages according to the motivation of the individuals that make the communities or groups on the various social media platform.

C #5 - Create

One of the complains that have been with clients is that communications consultants are not proactive enough. Here on these multiple channels of social media, they have the endless possibilities to create original content that is being provided to them by their clients and not only prove that they are proactive, but the original content can be used (hint) in combination of text, audio, video, graphical images, animation, pictures to benefit the clients. Don’t want to actually, boost ourselves, but we do not have any form of 30-second barrier, we need not have a limitations in our word length (copy). We have the power to inform, influence and impress with the power of words.

C #6 - Collaborate

All our management gurus have spoken about team building exercises. Here we have a platform not only build, but also to maintain the relationships that have been fostered over each and every social media platform. Technology gives us the opportunity to collaborate and enhance our relationships virtually. Relationships could be built on social platform based common interests and business platforms based on professional experience or expertise that one has.

C #7 - Contacts

Contacts - This may be one of the result that you will achieve in the process of your social media marketing effort. You would enjoy being a part of the wise world where knowledge sharing and problem solving are the things to do (TTDs) on a daily basis. This is the element that builds up the social support that you receive even from the online world, which helps individuals at the need of the hour in taking action at both personal front as well as professional!!

These 7 Cs have been the culmination of observation, experience, and research in the field of social media marketing over the past 10 months. If you have any more Cs or for that matter any element that you can think of that I have missed, just let me know!!

Some time back, press releases were perhaps meant only for the journalists. Not so anymore.

Today the consumer is fast becoming the fourth estate. With the increasing influence of social media in our lives, we are now reading/listening and expressing our views using blogs and podcasts, watching videos on YouTube, sharing pictures on Picasa and Flickr and sharing our lives and views with the virtual world through social networking sites like Orkut, Facebook and giving updates through Twitter. Now, if we want to share some information with our friends, we just don’t send them links, we want to share the videos, photographs, audio with each other.

Now if corporates want to target this lot, the traditional plain Jane press releases are a complete no no. We use what is called the Social Media Press Release (SMPR) that enables all these sharing in an interesting manner with ease. Since this not only provides the opportunity to share information in a way our new age consumer wants but at the same time also gives enough opportunity to engage the consumer and the critics in an ongoing dialogue.

One of the companies that use the Social Media Press Release effectively and efficiently is Ford . I particularly liked the “Digital Snippet” concept in this Social Media Press release only because it is like providing information to the blogger the way he/she would like to see, share, and publish through his/her Google reader or Bloglines.

Now how do we create a social media press release? The latest template has been developed recently by Social Media Group. This can be downloaded here.

There is another format developed by Shift Communications that can be downloaded from here. This particular template was simple to understand and easier to information as was briefed in within template limits.

If not for anything else, the Social Media News Release can come very helpful in certain traditional PR practices say for example in creating a video news release. Using the new release format, you can skip the tedious process of having to burn dozens of copies of CDs.

So are you using any social media press releases for your company/clients? What are your experiences? Share them for the community here.