IntenseDebate - katiemo

13 years ago @ Social Media Monitorin... - Should Interns Drive E... · 0 replies · +1 points

Thanks for the heads up, Esther!

13 years ago @ Social Media Monitorin... - Should Interns Drive E... · 0 replies · +1 points

I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with your point about digital natives being part of a company's target audience just because they're online. For example - I'm quite active online, but my Dad isn't. A company wanting to reach out to me would likely do so best via Twitter or a personal email to me, whereas my Dad would respond much better to an ad he saw on Facebook, something someone forwarded him (a promotional email), or a promo email itself.

Just because we're both online doesn't mean that we use the tools the same way. Digital Natives have a great amount of knowledge about best practices about how to use some of the tools, and that I fully agree with. But the knowledge has to grow a step before it becomes really useful as a skill for business, and that step is understanding how other people use those same tools. That's not something that every digital native understands, yet it is the lens that a lot of businesses use to evaluate strategies and tactics.

Your last point touches on what an internship should be, and I agree. A well-designed internship will offer ways for both the intern and the company to grow - it's a two-way feedback and learning loop!

-Katie

13 years ago @ Social Media Monitorin... - Should Interns Drive E... · 0 replies · +1 points

Wow - thanks for the meaty comment, Patrick! I don't think that it's necessarily about if you want to work on the engagement strategies for a company you work for, it's more about the question of do you have enough experience to do so at an internship level?

I do agree with your point about using interns as a pulse check on what consumers might respond to. But, what happens when your intern isn't in your target market? Do they have a deep enough understanding of how the people you're trying to connect with operate in the social space?

I'm intrigued by your idea of letting an intern take charge of a small portion of the pie - perhaps they're the person brainstorming the initial ideas, then working with their colleagues and superiors to flesh them out and build the final plan? I think you mean more that the intern would own the engagement for a small piece of the overall pie, but I don't think that most companies are ready for that. For that matter, neither are most interns (or even most "fresh out of college" employees).

Thanks for your thoughts on this :). I'm happy to hear you'll be stopping by more often!

Cheers
Katie

13 years ago @ Social Media Monitorin... - Should Interns Drive E... · 0 replies · +2 points

Great point. I had some killer internships when I was in college and found that the best ones were much like you described above. I had every opportunity to learn from the people I was working with and for, and I had a chance to answer questions and teach them new things on occasion.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Katie

13 years ago @ Social Media Monitorin... - Engagement: It's ... · 0 replies · +1 points

Very true, Steve. Thanks for the comment! Gary's absolutely correct when he says that caring has to come first. We all interact with companies and as consumers, I think that we can absolutely tell if a company is marketing at us, or trying to talk to us.

Cheers!

Katie

13 years ago @ Social Media Monitorin... - The Power of the Unexp... · 0 replies · +1 points

True - across all business units, too - this isn't just limited to marketing! Thanks for the comment :).

13 years ago @ Social Media Monitorin... - The Power of the Unexp... · 0 replies · +1 points

Wow - that one would absolutely impress me. Shoot, I'm usually just thrilled when a company I really like @ replies me on Twitter... a phone call goes so far beyond that! Thanks for sharing and Sinek Partners absolutely illustrated why this is so powerful!

13 years ago @ Social Media Monitorin... - Reporting for Marketin... · 0 replies · +2 points

Man, you and Esther are full of comment brilliance. Your example is a PERFECT one to show how one silo (marketing yourself through your website) can be married with another (your marketing activities across the social web).

Thanks for the comment and the kudos!

-Katie

13 years ago @ Social Media Monitorin... - Reporting for Marketin... · 0 replies · +2 points

I think your comment is better than my post - I literally couldn't have said it better myself!

You hit the nail on the head with regards to conversation volume. A lot of people want to view social media through the same lens that we view things like targeted ad campaigns or email marketing programs, which is one of a shorter return cycle, or a limited-time offer. Social media is often "the handshake", and people instead should view it more like a trip to the golf course with a prospect, or a conversation at a networking event. Historically these items take longer to translate into money coming through your sales funnel, and are far more long-term than your other online activities.

Thanks for your comment!

-Katie

13 years ago @ new media lisa - You're not as far behi... · 0 replies · +1 points

I completely agree. There are companies way ahead of the curve, as well as companies that are a bit slower to adopt. Shoot, I still know that some companies are struggling with email marketing - nevermind "all this social media stuff"!

There are often many more forces at work (especially within large orgs) that have to be changed/modified/educated before any new process or tool can be used.

Keep pluggin' away, but know that all of this stuff is a journey, not a start and stop "we must do it NOW!" project. It's evolving.

Katie | @misskatiemo
Community Manager | Radian6

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