The Basics Of Social Media

So I grabbed my cup of coffee and sat down with The Grande Guide to the Social CMO. It’s the fourth in the series of “Grande Guides” from Eloqua. It’s their best yet.

Let me start by saying, if you are looking for a concise, informative, easy-to-follow introduction to social media for senior level marketers, this is it.

It speaks to senior level marketers (CMOs, VPs, Directors) who lead their organizations marketing efforts and fit one or all of the following criteria:

• are new to social media,
• are struggling to understand how it all fits together and why,
• have been against it and now are thinking, “Uh-oh, was that the right decision?” or
• are in need of help educating other members of their team and company.

In the time it takes to enjoy a nice fresh cup of coffee (hence “Grande”), one will learn what social media is, why it’s important, and get a solid overview of the tools, best practices. Additionally, Jeffrey Hayzlett and Dave Balter share the views on the importance of the Social CMO.

The core tenet of the e-book is that

senior marketers must be an active, engaged participant on the social Web.

Said another way, we’ve reached the point of no return. You no longer have a choice. Your focus must shift to learning how. From the guide,

Why Do CMOs Need to Understand Social Media Personally?

Junior staff may understand the tools, but the strategy is determined by the CMO. And because the social Web is a participatory medium, the only way to fully understand it is through engagement. Your staff looks to you for leadership, and leaders are expected to adapt to change.

Why Does My Business Need To Understand Social Media?

Social media is the nexus of customer support, recruiting, public relations, brand awareness, lead generation and even product development. No company can afford to ignore or minimize a medium that touches all levels of the sales funnel and all stages of the customer lifecycle. Effective social strategies reduce churn, spark word of mouth, create demand and accelerate deal-flow.

I encourage you to download it (no registration required), read it, and then share it with anyone you feel will benefit. It truly is a solid introduction to social media.

One more thing for a more in depth look at social media from Eloqua’s perspective, check out Eloqua’s Social Media Playbook. (It’s rather good too.)

Oh and those other Grande Guides are:

1. The Grande Guide To Lead Scoring
2. The Grande Guide To Sales Enablement
3. The Grande Guide To Email Deliverability and Privacy

Enjoy. If you need help educating yourself and/or your team, I’d be glad to help with that.

Author: Jeremy Victor | Website | Twitter

Jeremy's the founder of Make Good Media and Editor In Chief of B2Bbloggers.com. B2Bbloggers.com is a B2B Marketing online magazine discussing the evolution of B2B marketing. Topics include content marketing, B2B social media, demand generation, marketing automation, and more. Sign up. Get all the articles via email.