Creating Value

"Creating Value"

Erik Qualman is a social media veteran and formerly known as "the guy with the green glasses”. Qualman is the author of Socialnomics (#1 Best Selling International Book), and Digital Leader and What Happens in Vegas Stays on YouTube. He has worked with hundreds of brands like Coach, Google, featured in major publications and talk shows, and has performed in 44 countries.

 

 This afternoon I had the pleasure of following skype chat with Erik Qualman the official social media guru.  Erik began his chat with an open ended survey “what social media platforms are we using, to how we would prefer our friends and professors to reach us”, it really broke the ice and taught us one of his key points “Follow the Trend not the Tool. 

• Follow the Trend Not the Tool: A tool like Google, Instagram, Myspace, snapchat come and go, however trends, where the people are going is what you should be following to stay up-to-date, current and relevant.
•      Network before you need your network:  This point hit close to home because I actually use this in everyday like, I run a blog and with that I get invited to many event which offers me an opportunity into many circles, although I may not need these individuals at the time I always keep in touch, repost/retweet/comment to keep the relationship alive, because you do not know when you may need these networks in the future, and if you have already made that connection it would be a smoother transition into a need or a favor.
•           Post it forward:   Think outside in not inside out: When Erik mentioned this for some reason everything seemed to click. I already knew about creating value for the consumer but for some reason it was not working. Erik gave an example “a company hired him to help with social media; they wanted to send out coupons to the masses no targeted audience, simply send them out. Erik suggested sending them to everyone online or through an app, the client said no, they did not want people to actually use them, just throw them away or lose them, we really don't want them to get a discount because they would be losing money. “ Erik goes on to say, “you have to work outside in, learning what your audience want and creating value for them and delivering on it, don’t chance the money it will come”.