Why listen to a bunch of self-diagnosed experts blathering on from the stage? Moderators Sean McDonald of Pricewaterhouse Coopers and Sam Decker of Mass Relevance were having none of that at their SXSW session. They dressed themselves up in the finest double knit polyester a man could find, and strode out into the SXSW sunlight as the epitomes of 1970s game show hosts. They turned the audience into the experts and then turned them loose, striving to answer the questions posed by others and vying for bragging rights, the grand prize crown, and a crisp $100 bill. Here are the best-liked questions from their rollicking session.
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BROUGHTTO
YOUBYTHE
MOSHPITOF
EXPERTSIN
THEAUDIENCE
THEFUTUREOF
SOCIALMEDIA
2.
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Q:WHATISTHEVALUEOFGOOGLEPLUS?
WHILEITMAYNOTBETHEJUGGERNAUTOTHERSOCIALNETWORKSARE,GOOGLE+
ISUSEFULFORGETTINGYOURCONTENTSURFACEDINSEARCH.GOOGLEPREFERS
CONTENTWRITTENBYAUTHORSWITHSTRONGGOOGLE+PRESENCE.
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Q:WILLSERVICESLIKEVINEAND
SNAPCHATSURVIVEANDMAKEMONEY?
VINEISALREADYSTARTINGTO FINDFAVOURWITHBRANDS,ANDTHEREFORE
THEMONETIZATIONPATHLOOKSCLEARER.ASPARTOFTWITTER,THEYHAVEA
STRONGSUPPORTNETWORKTO HELPTHEM BECOMEAPROFITABLEDIVISION.
SNAPCHAT’SPATHISLESSCLEAR.THEYKEEPTHEIRNUMBERSCLOSETOTHEIR
CHEST,BUTTHENUMBERTHATISPUBLICISTHEBILLIONDOLLAROFFERTHEY
REPORTEDREPORTEDLYTURNEDDOWNFROM FACEBOOK.THATCOULDBEABRILLIANT
MOVE...ORABONEHEADEDONE.
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Q:HOW DOMARKETERSDEAL
WITHSOCIALMEDIAFRAGMENTATION?
THREEWAYS:1)STAYFOCUSEDONYOURAUDIENCE—LOOKFORTHEMOST
RELEVANTUSERBASE.2)LOOKATTHEDATA—JUSTLIKETRADITIONALMEDIA.
3)ALIGNTHEFORMATTOYOURBRANDCULTURE—SOMEBRANDSNEEDTO BEON
THENEXTBIGTHINGWHILETHATMAYBEUNIMPORTANTFOROTHERS.
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Q:HOW CANIGOVIRALWITHOUTGOING
TOLEGALANDCOMPLIANCEHELL?
MAKEFRIENDSWITHTHEHEADSOFTHOSEDEPARTMENTS.ESTABLISHAN
UNDERSTANDINGOFTHEGUARDRAILSFORTHEBRANDANDCOMPANYBEFORE
DEVELOPINGCONTENTTHATMIGHTHAVEVIRALAPPEAL.
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Q:HOW IMPORTANTISPAIDSOCIAL?
PAIDSOCIALISBECOMINGVERYIMPORTANTANDORGANICISBECOMINGLESS
PREDICTABLE.THEMAJORSOCIALNETWORKSARETHROTTLINGBACKTHEREACH
ANDARESTARTINGTO BEHAVEMUCHMORELIKEREGULARMEDIANETWORKSIN
THISREGARD.
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Q:HOW DOICONVINCENON-BELIEVERS
(ESPECIALLYINACLIENTORGANIZATION)
THATSOCIALHASREALVALUE?
SHOW THEM THENUMBERSTHATMATTER:THENETPROMOTERSCORESOF
CUSTOMERWHOAREFANS/FOLLOWERSVSTHOSECUSTOMERSWHOARE
NON-ENGAGED.THAT’SACONVINCINGARGUMENTRIGHTTHERE.USEDATATO
BUILDYOURCASEFORTHEPOTENTIALANDTHENSELLINTHEOPPORTUNITYWITH
ATRULYINSPIRINGIDEA.
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Q:HOW DOYOUKNOW WHENTOSUNSET
SOCIALMEDIAPRESENCEFORABRAND?
PLACESOLIDBETS.DON’TFRAGMENTYOURBUDGET.PLANYOURTIMELINESOYOU
KNOW WHATTO DOWITHEVERGREENVSEVENT-TRIGGEREDCONTENT.
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Q:WHAT’STHEMOSTIMPORTANTROLE
FORSOCIAL?
CUSTOMERCARE.IFYOURCUSTOMERSARESPENDINGTHEBULKOFTHEIRTIMEON
SOCIALMEDIA,WHYWOULDN’TYOUBETOO,READYTO HELPATANYMOMENT?