To convert a prospect into a client is a special skill. Sometimes you get lucky and a company already has been contemplating the services you offer. Typically, however, a company hasn’t envisioned the various ways you can support it. This is why the first thing we at the Jonathan Rick Group do when meeting a prospect is to contextualize our field. We begin not with who we are and what we do, but how to conceptualize Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn and YouTube and so on. Instead of invoking lingo such as “content strategy,” “enterprise 2.0,” or “newsfeed optimization,” we present five simple slides on “how to think of social media” (see the presentation above). For example, at this point everyone knows about Twitter. Yet rare is the company making genuinely strategic use of the channel—using its tweets, say, to generate leads, to showcase its services, to curate content. Once you put social media in these familiar contexts (sales, PR, branding), then the light bulb flashes on. Indeed, only once someone understands what social media is can he appreciate its value—and yours.

1. HOW TO THINK
OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Jonathan Rick
@jrick

2. Before you entertain a
social media strategy,
you need a
business strategy.

3. When you
think of
social
media…
…don’t think of tactics.

4. Don’t Think Of…
…tactics and channels:

5. When you
think of
social
media…
…think of strategies.

6. Think of strategies:
 Building brand loyalty
 Responding to customers
 Discovering advocates and detractors
 Demonstrating thought leadership
 Tracking industry trends
 Attracting media attention
 Generating leads
 Recruiting employees and partners
 Keeping colleagues up to date
 Monitoring competitors
 Securing search engine equity

7. Thus, “social media” doesn’t refer to platforms,
but to what those platforms enable:
SOCIAL
INTERACTIONS

8. One More Thing

9. Being socially savvy
matters more than
being media savvy.

10. Let’s Continue the Conversation
Email hi@jonathanrick.com
Website jonathanrick.com
Twitter @jrick
SlideShare slideshare.net/jrick