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Social Media Principle 3 – Building a Bonfire

Guest post by: jon leuty

Article Overview: The traditional advertising approach to campaigning is like setting off fireworks. Great fireworks are attention-grabbing beacons on steroids; they make crowds gasp in delight, and draw an audience from many miles around.

Social Media Principle 3 – Building a Bonfire



If advertising is a firework, social media is a bonfire; slow to start, collaborative to build, then gets bigger and brighter..."

The traditional advertising approach to campaigning is like setting off fireworks.

Great fireworks are attention-grabbing beacons on steroids; they make crowds gasp in delight, and draw an audience from many miles around.

Yet while advertising burns very brightly, it dies very quickly. Fireworks are an expensive way to keep a crowd happy all night. Social media isn't like setting off a firework; it's like building a bonfire.

It takes time to start. There's careful initial construction, a gentle blow here and there, and the gradual addition of more wood. Then a couple of other folk gather around. Some of them will even help you build the fire; break some wood up, throw more on, poke around in the embers to make sure the fire doesn't go out. As more people gather, and help the fire grow bigger, the more it will attract yet more people... with attention and dedication, as everyone fuels the bonfire it will only ever burn brighter.

A social bonfire isn't something you can 'campaign'. It doesn't fit snugly in four-week bursts, it doesn't come with a guaranteed reach & frequency, and it's hard to know exactly what it's going to cost from the outset.

If you want to start a social bonfire, or want to help other people make their bonfires bigger, you're going to have to commit some time, effort, ingenuity and resource. Because it's not just about the bonfire; it's about building it together.

"If you are going to engage, you have to have a plan and make sure that resources are available. Because you can't gracefully exit - once you're in, you're in. The days of walking away from a campaign are over - once we engage, we have to commit to it." Denise Morrissey, Online Community Manager, Toyota

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Article Tags: Advertising, Facebook, Marketing, Social Media, Twitter, Youtube
Referred by: http://carboncopypro.com/



Related Forum Posts
Re: Kevin needs "social glue" ideas - Hi, I like the idea of "10 items that could act as "social glue" because I am an internet marketer. But I agree with the rest that the 10 recent post is nice. Maybe we should open up a new section in the forums on Social Media...or Social Media Marketing. I will tell you that the world is about 1 1/2 behind when it comes to understanding social media. Building a section now will put EvanCarmichael.com is a great position a year down the road when people realize Social Media can produce more traffic than SEO. Jeff
Re: Kevin needs "social glue" ideas - [quote="WebBizIdeas.com":gvtxsu7g]Hi, I like the idea of "10 items that could act as "social glue" because I am an internet marketer. But I agree with the rest that the 10 recent post is nice. Maybe we should open up a new section in the forums on Social Media...or Social Media Marketing. I will tell you that the world is about 1 1/2 behind when it comes to understanding social media. Building a section now will put EvanCarmichael.com is a great position a year down the road when people realize Social Media can produce more traffic than SEO. Jeff[/quote:gvtxsu7g] Hi Jeff, Thanks for the suggestion. Why don't you start a new post (with a poll) to see if there's enough interest in your idea for a social media section?
Re: UPDATES: New Campaign! New Layout! New Ideas! - GT - thanks for the FYI - I'm not sure if we'll put a link back. Something to consider though! Trent - the new category is "Social Network and Media" which was put in to compliment the Online Businesses category that currently exists. Overall the new categories are: - Looking For, Networking and Events - Review My... - Social Network and Media - Brags and Rants These came as a result of Ringo doing research on other forums and thinking about what could be improved on ours to give a better experience for everyone. I hope you enjoy them! David, I'm looking forward to reading your Brag / Rant!
Re: Marketing 2.0 - What Are Your Thoughts - Hi Shri, Thanks for posting this. I also read it and I believe Social Media is here to stay, until the next best thing comes up. Social media proved to be useful for me many times and I think everyone should use it for their business.
Re: Social Media Marketing Ignorance - [quote="vbn411":7qciluxl]Social Media is space that you have to be in to succeed in our current climate. People are going to be discussing your brand / product whether you like it or not, so you might as well join the conversation and add value. [/quote:7qciluxl] I think that's probably one of the most realistic way to think about it. There's no real textbook way of understanding Social Media, it's the networks of people and their interactions that will exist with or without your input. As for Jennifer, You can always have 2 Facebook pages. Many people do. There is also LinkedIn, which is like a professional networking version of Facebook. The only way to know is to try it.


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