Panelists at the “Big Brands, Startups and Social” discussion

By: Lauren Goodacre

Santa Monica’s Silicon Beach Fest last week proved how social media continues to be an inherently crucial part of a company’s brand voice, customer satisfaction and overall success. Executives from such corporate giants as Taco Bell and Omnicom to independent social media experts discussed ways for both big and small companies to achieve the always-elusive ROI from social media.

What the Big Guys Are Saying:

Big brands typically dominate social media, largely because of their infrastructure, strong brand voice and high customer base. However, speakers from Silicon Beach’s “Big Brands and Social Media” panel demonstrated how small companies can implement big brand ideas to increase their social media presence.

The panelists emphasized how brands sometimes “try to be all things to all people” and insert themselves into too many conversations, social media networks, and industries. They reminded that it’s important to be only be “all things” to the specific network of people you’re trying to reach, and become an expert on the tendencies and nuances of that audience.

Another way big brands keep up their social media presence is by building connections. Most of the panelists collaborate with competitors and take the time to engage with their audiences on a personal level. “At the end of the day, the genesis is always relationship building,” Taco Bell Resident Disruptor Jeff Jenkins said.

Additionally, companies must understand how to weigh their web, tablet and mobile exposure accordingly in order to stay competitive. Several consumers are being exposed to information on mobile devices, and then flocking to a desktop or other platform to dive deeper into the subject. “There’s a big trend towards local mobile,” said Chris Denson, Director of Ignition Factory at Omnicom Group, noting that brands should also appeal to local markets when possible.

Tips from the Social Media Influencers:

While startups and smaller companies typically don’t have the budget for PR, there are several ways they can leverage social media sites to promote their brand and engage with new and existing customers. In the “Meet Social Media Influencers” panel, Calvin Lee, Designer and Brand Strategist at Mayhem Studios suggested brands must first do thorough research before posting on social media sites. “You can post great content all day, but if no one sees it, it doesn’t matter,” Lee said.

Calvin Lee and Marsha Collier, appropriately on social media during the Social Media Influencer panel.

Small brands that have great social media following are also ones that understand how to actively engage with all content that comes across their networks. Acclaimed social media expert (with more than 88,000 Twitter followers) and panelist Marsha Collier said she Tweets every hour until 6 pm. If someone Retweets her content, she immediately goes to their feed, determines if their content is relevant to her brand and then Retweets them back.

Another resource influencers swear by is Klout.com, a social site and mobile app that measures your social media influence number on a scale of 1-100.  Once Klout calculates your “score,” the site curates suggested Tweets based on topics you’re interested in, and also shows when your audience is most active.

Several influencers also direct startups to Instagram as a way to promote their brands personality and the idea that the company is run by real people. Businesses should always have a Chief “Listening” Officer to determine where their audience hangs out and why they are there.

While these methods may not work for all companies, it is evident that the brands that engage with every person who interacts with their social media content are the ones seeing the biggest return.

Taking advantage of a charging station at the event!

Who to follow:

Jeff Jenkins, TacoBell, @jeffmjenkins
Chris Denson, Omnicom Group, @Densonology
Tim Sovay, The Audience, @TimSovay
Mark Wallrapp, Facebook, @wallrapp
Marsha Collier @marshacollier
Calvin Lee, Mayhem Studios, @mayhemstudios
@PressKitchenSF