The Social Media landscape is a very interesting one. It comprises of 10 key elements and all of them can be used, and are being used, to help generate and maintain sales for small to medium sized businesses. In this 7-part blog series, I am going to give an over view of the 7 elements you need to be using as a bare minimum.
- Publish
- Share
- Discuss
- Social Networks
- Microblogging
- Lifestream
- Livecast
The other three, virtual worlds, social games and MMO (or Massively Multiplayer Online game) can also be used, although not essential.
So, let’s keep the focus on the big 7 and help you get your Social Media skills & understanding to a whole new level.
“Discuss” The Social Media Landscape – Part 3 of 7
Skype is the key player in the “Discuss” element of the Social Media landscape.
This element is all about speed, reliability, cost and instant, direct communication going both ways. IE: Just as a phone call would be used – here’s how you can use online technology to save money, be more convenient and include a couple of extra features that your everyday landline phone can’t do.
Who likes the idea of free calls to your business partners, colleagues, clients, prospects and of course, while you’re at it, your friends and family too? We all do, right?
Skype is an incredible program that allows you do achieve just that! There is little wonder Skype has 220 million registered accounts and there are often 10 – 15 million people online at any one time!
So, what exactly is Skype? Skype is a software program that allows it’s registered (free to register) users to call other users over the internet free of charge – no matter where in the world they are.
Additional to calling, you can also have “Video Conferences” so you can see who you’re talking to and of course, be seen! Sending an instant message by typing into the chat box is also free and easy to use as well as Skype’s “File Transfer” facility.
How is Skype good for business? Pretty obvious now, isn’t it?
1/ Cut your business expenses
2/ Be contactable world-wide
3/ Be personable – video conferencing
Skype is also very cost effective for calling international phone numbers, local numbers and cell phones. Tip: You can call international free-phone numbers from Skype. IE: If you live in New Zealand and want to call a 1800 number in the USA, normally you have to enter a pre-fix and will pay international calling rates.
There are lots more features with Skype – perhaps a blog all on it’s own. I am sure you get the picture and will head over to the Skype website now and get started.
Other systems available under “Discuss” include MSN Messenger & Yahoo Messenger. Both offer instant text chat messages between users. Skype is the most common and I recommend sticking to that.
So there you have it, some food for thought on the Discuss element of the Social Media Landscape. YouTube is definitely the key player here – ensure you use it!
Come back for Part 4 – 7 real soon or even better, subscribe to this blog and have the next post emailed to you when I hit “submit”!
Uncovering the Social Media Landscape
