If you aren’t listening, then you will never know. 

During a recent  #AwarenessInc webinar, “Answering the Social Phone,” David Alston of Radian6 discussed what organizations should listen for online, what to say when you engage, and of course, how to measure your efforts and ‘convince the boss’ on the importance of using social media to answer that social phone. Because if you’re not answering it, your competitor who is more involved and engaged will.

It was a very informative and interactive session for the social media novice and even those who have been around the block a few times. If you have never heard David speak before, I highly recommend taking a peek at the video below for yourself.

While tracking the discussion during the webinar online,  I pulled out some key points from the audience. What are your thoughts? Get involved in the discussion yourself by tagging any discussions with #AwarenessInc like these webinar attendees did below.

stephen_lamb: RT @BostonSarah: Think of ROI for social media in terms of “Return on Ignoring.” What is the cost of opportunity lost? -David Alston #awarenessinc

jerrycameron: Purchased mass media is essentially the “rental” of eyes and ears. Social media is about hearts and minds; engaging with them. #awarenessinc

@sarahnohr: If you suck offline, you suck online. Best quote of the day. #awarenessinc

BostonSarah: There is no silver bullet on measuring social media. Set your objectives up front. -David Alston #awarenessinc

AlexisDias: Why are people obsessed with the number of followers? Let’s  focus on ENGAGEMENT instead… #awarenessinc

mrktgeek: Do “Targeted Listening” to find conversations that you can add value to. #awarenessinc

btrandolph: thank you @davidalston #awarenessinc for saying “numbr of followers not always the most important thing” #beyondcpm

mrktgeek: Building community through connections with #awarenessinc

tanmoyroy: “The brand is the sum of all conversations” – @DavidAlston #awarenessinc

ajrinaldi: From @davidalston The beautiful thing about social media is it is digital…[and] leaves digital bread crumbs #awarenessinc

I also pulled a few of the tweets that highlighted some of the key discussion points/quotes from Katie’s webinar and pasted them below. If you would like to continue the discussion, feel free to add your comments below or via twitter with the hashtag #awarenessinc.

amybomar: People use & prefer different channels, expect different responses from the different channels. #awarenessinc

kellyrfeller: Wow, great objective: “Move folks from (neutral) conversation to engagement.” Big opportunity since 95% of content is neutral. #awarenessinc

IT4GenY: “research without insight is just trivia.” #awarenessinc

amybomar: Focus on fewer key messages with shorter sentences. #awarenessinc

msmamet: Blog and Twitter are the most common social media for Consumer brands @kdpaine #awarenessinc

goodridge: “There is no Audience, ther are multiple consituencies” – @kdpaine #awarenessinc

tguch: “You become what you measure” #awarenessinc

joshgunkel: good quote @kdpaine “you become what you measure” I also like “what gets measured gets repeated” #awarenessinc

amybomar: Should you blog or Twitter? Ask your customers! (via @kdpaine webinar) #awarenessinc
 

What’s Coming Up Next?

On January 28th at 2PM ET the amazing David Alston, VP Marketing and Community at Radian6 will be the featured guest for the next Awareness webinar. During his session, “Are you answering the “social phone?” David will talk about what to listen for, what to say when you engage, and of course, how to measure your efforts and ‘convince the boss. Additional details and registration form can be accessed here: http://info.awarenessnetworks.com/SocialPhone.html