I was fortunate enough to participate in the panel discussion “Social Media Success: Uncovering What Works”, hosted by WBZ Radio yesterday morning, at the Westin Copley Place. The panel was the latest in a series that WBZ has held to provide a forum for local businesspeople to learn about and discuss their issues with implementing social media successfully. I gathered a list of the key takeaways from the #WBZBreakfast with panelists @michellemanafy @stevegarfield @chefjasonsantos and myself, @AJGerritson.

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Video via @wbznewsradio

@AJGerritson

  • Importance of strategy behind social
  • Think before you speak
  • Know your audiences and influencers so your content is relevant to them
  • Integrate traditional activities with social media- social media may not be optimized without integrating traditional activities
  • Social media is a commitment- Establish strategy and have a knowledgeable team to manage social media
  • Strategy for responding to positive and negative comments, crisis communications for social media- Both positive and negative comments are important to your business so take them seriously and develop engagement strategies to make smart responses
  • “If you wouldn’t do it in real life you probably shouldn’t do it on Twitter”
  • Social media is a digital expression of yourself
  • Creative with posts and promos; link your social pages for optimal views
  • Blogs allow you to BE the thought leader in the space
  • Have an authentic interest in your social media content

@michellemanafy

  • Importance of community in your content
  • Social media is the ultimate word of mouth tool
  • Blocking social media is short-sighted

Do you have any other takeaways from the breakfast? Please leave your comments below!