If you attended the Simpleview Summit in May, you probably caught the presentation by social media expert Jay Baer as he went over ways that organizations can find more value in the social web.

One thing Jay just touched on was what service to use for what purpose, so we thought we'd offer some additional advice. Use the matrix below the next time you meet with your marketing team to learn more about what you're doing (or could be doing) with social media.

Channel

Best Uses

Examples 

A DMO Doing it Right
Facebook Human interest, real-time / transient content, photo sets Today's sunset; what Susan bought at the farmer's market; post from an outdoor concert  Visit Salt Lake
Twitter Announcements, answers, comments to fuel conversation Link to a new member; announce a big event coming up; praise your favorite menu item in response to a restaurant's post Charlottesville Albemarle CVB
YouTube Short videos on specific events, places, activities "Broadcasts" from nightlife hotspots; footage of the annual Christmas parade Positively Cleveland
Blogging Entries with concrete info on specific places, events and activities w/lots of pictures What to bring to the all-day folk festival; description of an upcoming favorite fall event; spotlight on a member or local attraction Midlands Authority for Conventions, Sports & Tourism (Columbia, SC)

Three more simple social media tips:

  • If you haven't already, secure your account names on all the major social media services. Even if you think you'll never use Flickr, why risk having someone else grabbing a user name other people might think is you
  • Use social media monitoring tools to actively listen (and then respond) to any mention of your name, your members and partners, your destination, etc. Jay goes into much more detail on" listening campaigns" in his book The New Revolution, co-authored with Amber Naslund.
  • Be consistent. After all, social media is based upon relationships. You wouldn't see a friend every week then disappear for six months without warning, so don't do it on Facebook. Start conservatively, find a level of engagement you can maintain and let it grow organically.