A Social Media Intern Goes to SouthWiRED

One of the benefits of being a social media intern at a place like Everywhere is that instead of being sent out to get the coffee, they send you out to conferences like SouthWiRED. SouthWiRED is the largest digital conference in the Southeast featuring panels and presentations from the top innovators in the country and not a bad way to spend a day interning. What follows are a few of my takeaways from a hard day interning!

The very first panel I attended was moderated by our CEO, Danica Kombol and it was entitled, Taking on the Challenge of Social Media in a B2B World. She was joined by seasoned marketers & PR folks from Cox Communications, PGI, Manheim & Novelis. The panelists did a fantastic job addressing many of the common concerns and conundrums marketers face in the B2B realm. Many professionals are under the impression that marketing for B2B and B2C bands on social media is as similar as night and day; they’re more like breakfast and brunch. Just like B2C brands, those in B2B must have an authentic and consistent brand voice. The story they build needs to be fluid, but relevant to the consistent and relatable themes in their overarching marketing strategy. Also worth mentioning is that B2B brands have influencers too and they’re usually in-house. Executives, VPs, and Directors of brands should be both active on social media and engaging in order to build credibility, as this will drive more new business leads. The more we come to understand marketing across social platforms and digital mediums, the more we understand that the age old adages of “B2B” and “B2C” no longer exists—it’s all about H2H, Human to Human.

The next presentation I attended was about understanding owned, paid and earned media from an HR perspective. It helped me understand why companies that strictly put their efforts into either paid or earned media are doing themselves a huge disservice—utilizing both types of media allows them to maximize the effectiveness of their campaigns. Earned media is great for brands because consumers see it as trustworthy due to its organic nature. When influencers write reviews, blog posts, or social media content, they are establishing and perpetuating the trustworthiness and credibility of a brand to their readership. While this effect is great, the reach and audience can be limited. This is where paid comes in—it gives brands the ability to magnify their reach beyond the scope of their followers and those of their influencers, as well as target consumers based on CRM and POS data. Simply, I learned that the key here is to gain as much earned media as possible and to leverage paid media to enhance and refine it.

So, not bad for a day’s work as a social media intern! I can only hope that in a few years, armed with the knowledge I gained at Everywhere, I’ll see myself on a panel sharing my opinions about social, digital and business.

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*This post was penned by Everywhere Agency’s wonderful Fall 2014 Intern, Josh Guilbaud.