yinkaolaito.com – the branding gavel, brand communication expert, nigeria brand consultant, social media expert

We have established that sitting on the fence when it comes to conversation marketing today is dangerous. It is like taking a position in the middle of a highway road. I do understand that for some, it appears we are speaking a foreign language with all the terms we are using here such as web 2.0, conversation marketing etc. because of these set of people, I hereby give my opinion and what those terms translate to in a lay man’s language as well as make open what the rules of the game are. Like we have established, conversational marketing takes place on the web. Interestingly the web has moved from web 1.0 for beginners to web 2.0. To add insult to injury for many, web 3.0 is around the corner in the western world. This requires that those of us here must quickly update our knowledge as fast as possible so we can play in the big league. I must say I am not a web savvy individual neither do I study science related course in the university, my passion is only on how brands can take advantages made available to harness visibility and relevance. This I have being doing in the past three years before I start talking about it today. Not to worry, individuals out there will not need three years period to learn, all you need do is to closely follow issues here and drop comment if you do not understand anything. So to be a player in this game, take note of the following as brand owner or a brand.

1. Have basic knowledge of the internet: You do not need to be a guru. I am not one. There are things I wish I know that I do not know.

2. Understand your brand, business and its users.

3. Be keenly interested in your niche and listen to the conversation going on around the world.

4. Develop a strategy to partake. This will help you to measure results.

5. Delegate responsibility: you either get involve –personal brand, or delegate responsibility as corporate brand owner. Get a social media consultant or community manager as it is called now. If you can not get any, send your people to us for training. It pays greater dividends.

6. Utilize integrated social media method: There are great numbers out there i.e. forums, social network, ding, discussion group, blogs. These require adequate training to get best results.

 On the last note, do not enter conversation as a marketer delivering a sales pitch, it will boomerang. People do not like to be sold to. Learn to respect privacy terms too.