posted by Bethany Haley @ 9:17 AM
I attended the APDF (Association of Professional Design Firms) Annual Exchange two weeks ago and not surprisingly the two “big” topics of conversation were related to social media and sustainability. I am not sure I feel like talking about Sustainability today but Social Media is worth some mention. Stephen Randall was the guest speaker related to this SM topic and he definitely gave me some food for thought – not just for my business but for my clients. His presentation reinforced that you should not view SM as a marketing campaign or promotion – that good social media practices are authentic and build trust over time – needless to say, the sales and connections will follow. As far as corporations, he highlighted Whole Foods as a good adopter of social media. Several “takeaway” points and challenges that I think are worth sharing:
- Your website doesn’t have a “voice” – social media is a platform to create that voice, build up a dialog with any intended (or unintended) audience. This works on a personal and a corporate level.
- Feel challenged to “bust open your firewall” – put your work, information and other content that you typically think of as “VIP access only” out for the world to see.
- Take on an attitude of sharing vs. promoting.
Other interesting places to go/tools to use: wiffiti, iLike, slideshare.com
