You know it, we know it, it seems like everybody knows it: you blink your eye and something has changed in social media. It’s hard to keep up. Here are four current tactics that can help you take a temperature check.

Social Listening: Good, Bad, Effective?

Maybe you’ve heard the term, maybe you haven’t, but essentially, social listening is about paying attention to what is being said about your business or your brand on social platforms.  Key goals include identifying primary influencers, product ideas and customer complaints. When done correctly, it can give you the whole story and the context in which your audience operates. It can also give you an opportunity to truly fulfill people’s expectations.

But, be wary: many argue that there is a fine line between social listening and eaves dropping. Some even argue that it’s a full on invasion of privacy. That’s why it’s important to:

1) Define Your Goals. You can gather a lot of data from this activity, but having a good idea of the type of data you want and the way you want to build relationships with your audience is going to help you be deliberate and relevant in your responses.

Do you want to enhance customer support and service? 

Do you want to better tailor your content based on what people are asking for? 

With an Enterprise Publishing System, you can really manage that data and better serve the answers to these questions. The key is coming from a vantage point of listening to help, not to sell. Don’t be the random guy on the train who jumps in on the intimate conversation of others. Be the guy who adds value to the dialogue.

2) Demonstrate Good Social Skills. If you’re going to be listening, make sure the team members doing it and who engage with your audience are strong communicators who have an ability to read the climate of interaction. Remember that just because someone has the technical skill, doesn’t mean they have the social skill. They need to know when people are willing to compromise a little privacy for value, and when they need to steer clear.

Social Media Teams

Yes, it’s true, current trends suggest that more and more businesses are dedicating entire teams (or at least one or two staff) to social media management. Chances are, you are on at least 3 social platforms (many are on 7 or more). When most require interaction at least once daily, it gets more and more challenging to manage them all. Especially, when rich, relevant content is your priority.

Metrics?

Recent data shows that 34% of marketers believe they are seeing results from social media, but hard numbers remain elusive. What’s not elusive is its growing usage. What does that mean for you?

• Stay with it, but use it as part of your overall strategy.  It’s a proven method for making your email marketing that much more powerful and you know that email marketing has not lost its value. In fact, 68% of marketers say it is a core tactic.
• Measure your results. You don’t have time to waste on useless tactics. With defined goals, it is easier to measure your activities and you are much more intentional about what you do.

Visual and Audio Content

Use of images, video (especially micro video) and podcasts only continues to increase. It’s a no brainer for all your content, but especially for engagement and sharing on social platforms. Make sure you have an EPS that supports the crispest, speediest multimedia functions you can find.

Bonus: Best Social Media for BtoB

Twitter is still holding strong, but LinkedIn is definitely the number one for BtoB professionals.  Most projections for this year also focus on Google + as a growing platform, especially in the context of Google’s grand scheme for SEO and personalization.

By the way, Facebook turns ten this year. If you're keeping up with social media in these four ways, you have reason to celebrate, too.