This year's Olympics have been extremely
memorable because I have been privileged to showcase amazing social media
experts on my blog. I would like to thank the following individuals for
contributing to my Olympics series during the last two weeks: Kittie Walker
from the United Kingdom, Edna Campos from Mexico, Saul Fleischman from Japan,
Olga Henggi from Switzerland, Kim Lavigne and Ray Hiltz from Canada, Mattias
Gronborg from Sweden, Pervara Kapadia from India, and Annemarie Cross and Zoe
Herbert Routh from Australia. These individuals and their use of social media
exemplify the mantra stated so eloquently by Vala Afshar: "Don't do
social, be S.O.C.I.A.L., which means be sincere, open, collaborative,
interested, authentic, and likeable."
However, as the Olympic flame is about to
be extinguished, it's time to give those of us who call the United States home
a voice here on my blog. Today's expert is Shaun
Dakin, the founder of Dakin & Associates, an innovation,
communications, and strategy firm in Washington, D.C. Shaun is an advocate for
online and data privacy rights, has testified before Congress, and leads the
weekly #privchat on Twitter. You can connect on Twitter @ShaunDakin.
Which social network is most popular in the USA?
No mystery – it's Facebook!
How are American legislators dealing with the privacy issue resulting
from social media?
Not very well. Seriously, the American
Congress has had a lot of smoke but no fire. They have held over 20 hearings on
data privacy but taken no action in terms of passing legislation. I don't
expect anything to occur this year.
What three ways are major businesses in the USA using social media as
a marketing tool to promote products or services?
[1] As a story-teller: Coca-Cola has a
Facebook page for almost every single product. I love the Coke Zero page. There
are always fun stories being told.
[2] As a customer service platform: Many
companies allow customers to ask support questions. My favorite example is
FitBit, a health tool. I personally used it to ask questions and get answers.
Unfortunately for FitBit, the answers were not what I needed so I returned the
product.
[3] As a sales and revenue generator:
Some organizations use social media to offer deals (Groupon and LivingSocial),
and others use it to sell products and get rid of the old to make way for the
new.
What is the most valuable social media advice you can offer?
Think long and hard before you jump into
social media. Listen first, then participate in the conversation, respond to
customer conversations, and tell your stories.
In what ways will smartphones and tablets further evolve in the USA?
They will make our breakfast! Big grin.
Enjoy the closing ceremonies of the Games
of the XXX Olympiad.
Thanks so much !
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