Things I’ve Learned from Lately #2

“Things I’ve Learned from Lately” is a regular compilation of articles that have made me a smarter social media marketer. Hopefully, they’ll help you, too.

Social’s Power on SearchSmartBlog has one or two really good pieces each week, and this week didn’t disappoint as it breaks down some simple tips on using social media to impact search engine rankings, including: following your customers, encouraging sharing, and incentivizing participation.

Key Takeaway: Social media is not just social media. It’s starting to tie the web together, and marketers are missing the point if they think it’s just a series of platforms. Social media weaves throughout the internet as social signals are used to influence everything, including search results, which are a key factor in the purchase decision-making process.

Have You Checked Your Social Media Policy Lately? – Brian Heidelberger outlines important callouts for organizations to make sure they aren’t violating with their social media policies. Question to ask, include: Does your policy restrict “friending” other employees? Does your policy prohibit talking about workers? and more.

Key Takeaway: Social media policies and internal structures aren’t “set and forget.” They need to be revisited based on the changing landscape and company goals. Don’t let your policy be crossed off the to-do list for good.

Real-Time Social Media Use is Mind-Blowing – We’ve all seen the stats around social media, and they’re pretty impressive. But there’s a difference between seeing stats and seeing them happen in real-time. Gary Hayes has developed a real-time stat counter across social, mobile, games and heritage. Just try to hold your mind down.

Key Takeaway: The universe is expanding rapidly, and the amount of data being generated any given moment is staggering. Marketers that figure out how to parse the data for the information that matters to them and apply it will have a big advantage over their competitors.