10 More Social Marketing Experts Offer Key Advice

Social marketing experts: Top, from left: David Amerland, Tamara Littleton, Lisa Grimm, Jason Falls, Sandra Zoratti; Bottom, from left: Ted Rubin, Neal Schaffer, Peggy Fitzpatrick, Kent Huffman, Aaron Lee

Social media marketing is a new and growing field of study. Facing the prospect of teaching social marketing basics in a rapidly changing business environment to college students I have turned to experts to ask them three questions.

I’ve now asked these questions of 30 experts. Their answers always impressed me and were always informative.

Today, in case you've missed any of the posts, I recap highlights from the most recent 10 experts who talked to me (links to previous posts are below while new posts in the series will begin later this week):

The Third 10 Social Marketing Experts:

Don’t focus too heavily on the technology, said David Amerland, author of several books including The Social Media Mind, SEO Help, Online Marketing Help and Brilliant SEO. "The technology moves so fast that focusing your skillsets around specific platforms (like Facebook or G+, for example) is self-defeating and will only help you feel dated and out of touch faster,” he said.

"Create a personality for your company on social media that resonates with your audiences,", advised Tamara Littleton, founder and CEO of eModeration a social media management agency with offices in London, New York and Los Angeles. "I think some marketers are afraid of showing a human side when they approach social media and that’s a big mistake," she said. "No-one wants to talk to an anonymous logo."

Being passionate about connecting people and being curious are keys to social marketing success , said Lisa Grimm, Senior Manager, Social Strategy at Imagination, for whom she works onsite at General Mills leading social presence, social strategy development and brand/product integration for Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Eat Better America and Tablespoon. "If you're inquisitive and passionate about how mass communication tools can connect people, you should make a fine social marketer," she said.

"Gotta be able to communicate well", said Jason Falls, the man behind Social Media Explorer, a strategic services agency and an information products company focusing on social media marketing and digital marketing, and co-author of No Bullshit Social Media: The All-Business, No-Hype Guide To Social Media Marketing. "Clarity in communication is probably the top skill you need for any job, but this world is all about connecting audiences with messages and vice-versa," he said.

Converse, don't broadcast, was the advice of Sandra Zoratti , Vice President, Global Marketing for Ricoh and co-author of Precision Marketing: Maximizing Revenue Through Relevance. "Consumer conversations, not marketing messages, increasingly determine what gets attention and what gets ignored," she said.

Be yourself, get to know who people are, said Ted Rubin, Chief Social Marketing Officer at Collective Bias, inventor of the term ROR: Return on Relationship and the Most-Followed CMO on Twitter. "Show sincere interest in others," he said. "Listen, but most important ... hear. Look at your own behaviors and ask yourself, 'Would I want to be my friend?'"

Social media marketing requires three distinct kinds of thinking, opined Neal Schaffer, president of Windmills Marketing, a social media strategic consultancy, speaker, author of the books Maximizing LinkedIn for Sales and Social Media Marketing and Windmill Networking: Understanding, Leveraging & Maximizing LinkedIn. Analytical thinking, creative thinking and "analogue social thinking." "Social marketing is not rocket science, but it requires a different mindset," he said. "I believe that traditional marketing and business skills are still important in social marketing, but social media marketing definitely requires that you are strong in these areas."

Engaging with your community is very important, said Peggy Fitzpatrick, Director of Marketing and Social Media Manager for Kreussler Inc., the Brand Sparker at re:DESIGN and a writer and Managing Partner at 12 Most. "If you don't enjoy being social with people, this is not the venue for you," she said. "I genuinely love hearing from people who follow me or that I follow, they brighten my day."

Listening to and understanding what’s happening on social media are the keys, said Kent Huffman, the Chief Marketing Officer at BearCom Wireless, Co-Publisher of Social Media Marketing Magazine, and author of the new book, 8 Mandates for Social Media Marketing Success. Important things are "planning carefully, developing relationships, establishing trust, demonstrating leadership, building community and ensuring value," he said.

Passion is the key to social marketing success, according to Aaron Lee, an entrepreneur based in Malaysia, who is the Social Media Marketing Director for Binkd, a social media contest campaign platform provider, and who blogs at Ask Aaron Lee. "Passion is what separates every successful person from others," he said. "You can feel it in what they do and how passionate they are to help others be successful as well."

So, what do you think? How important will social marketing be in the future and what MUST graduating students know?

Previous posts:
10 Experts Weigh In On Social Marketing
10 More Experts Weigh In On Social Marketing
Social Marketing: Utility leads to success, says Google’s Avinash Kaushik
Social Marketing: Being passionate is the key to success, says marketer @AskAaronLee
Social Marketing: Don’t be timid, says Ford’s Scott Monty

Social Marketing: Listen and understand, says marketer and author Kent Huffman

What are the most important social media marketing skills that graduating college students need to understand?

Kent Huffman

I’m asking three questions of some leaders in the field of social marketing and this is what I learned. This is No. 29 in the series (see the links below for other posts in the series).

Today: Kent Huffman, is the Chief Marketing Officer at BearCom Wireless, Co-Publisher of Social Media Marketing Magazine, and author of the new book, 8 Mandates for Social Media Marketing Success. He holds a bachelor's degree in marketing from Texas State University and can be found on Twitter as @KentHuffman.

Listening to and understanding what’s happening on social media are the keys to social marketing success, says Huffman.

"Of primary importance is the ability and willingness to listen and comprehend on social media before making the leap into that world," he says.

Almost as important are such things as "planning carefully, developing relationships, establishing trust, demonstrating leadership, building community and ensuring value."

Graduating students need a broad understanding of the mechanics of how to use the primary tools and channels (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, blogs, etc.), Huffman says.

Beyond that, "the most important key to success with social media marketing is comprehending and applying the behavioral traits of individuals and brands that have already been successful," he says.

"The importance of social media in the marketing mix has been rapidly rising over the past three or four years, particularly in the B2C arena."

Business-to-business marketers, whom Huffman says, "typically lag behind when it comes to adopting new trends … have begun jumping on board” and using social media. That’s a "strong sign," he says, "that social media marketing isn’t a fad but is here to stay."

So, what do you think? How important is social marketing to the future of marketing and what skills and knowledge MUST graduating students have?

Previous posts:
10 Experts Weigh In On Social Marketing
10 More Experts Weigh In On Social Marketing
Social Marketing: Engage with your community for success, says Peggy Fitzpatrick
Social Marketing: Three distinct kinds of thinking needed, says speaker and author Neal Schaffer
Social Marketing: 'Be yourself' to be successful, says Ted Rubin of ROR fame
Social Marketing: Converse, don't broadcast says Ricoh’s Sandra Zoratti