Read Chapters 5-7 in Marketing to the Social Web. Assume you are starting a company.  Think of a product or service you will sell.  Write a one page summary of this company and in additional pages thoroughly respond to Steps 1-3. You need to demonstrate an understanding of Ch 5-7, the specific steps mentioned, and how you would specifically implement for your company. Your submission needs to be substantive in nature and a thorough analysis. As always, please ensure spelling, grammar, and sentence structure is reviewed and addressed.

As a new business owner, you are limited in financial resources for your company.  As you have learned in this social marketing class, there are many ways to promote your new company without spending a lot of money.  For this project you will develop a plan to build your own customer community.

Your one page company summary and steps 1-3 are due this week. Below are nuggets from the chapters, but you want to be sure to read and thoroughly apply all the content from the assigned chapters to this assignment.

Step 1: Observe and Create a Customer Map
The goal is to understand the most influential places within the social web and capture what the largest communities are. See what they are talking about and what the talking points are. See what people are saying about your company, the products/services, and your competitors. Part of observe is to research the key influencers using search tools and keywords. You may see what key terms and words are helpful in your category. Observation will help you understand your space and business landscape. With the customer map, you will identify all key customer segments and consumer groups and fully understand their needs, wants, concerns, etc. This is more than just knowing key demographics, but knowing what is called psychographics (attitudinal data, behavioral data, more emotional in nature and somewhat intangible versus static demographic data).

Step 2: Recruit Community Members
This is all about why a customer will engage with you. Remember how Chapter 6 talked about the need for ensuring a sound outreach strategy using the Social Web and how the content must be compelling. Well, you do need a specific plan in attracting and retaining your community. Marketing on the social web is all about generating leads, producing revenues, increasing brand awareness, building loyalty, and starting a meaningful dialogue. Recruiting is about meeting the consumers needs whether they are looking for networking opportunities, entertainment, information, knowledge, or a forum in which they can give feedback/opinions. To recruit you can use traditional media (direct mail, lists, brochures, advertisements, etc.) and of course, digital/social media. The goal is to create a community that people want to engage with and tell others about.

Step 3: Evaluate Online Conduit Strategies
The main questions to address are (1) Who do you want to reach? and (2) What do you want to say to them? The four main strategies are reputation aggregators, blogs, e-communities, and social networks. And search too. You would use all of the above to fully embrace a sound strategy and to maximize your ROI.

The 1-page company summary would want to contain such elements as the company description (a summary of your products/services), mission, focus, potentially a SWOT analysis, your structure, your competitive advantage (how you differentiate yourself), etc. You would then move forward with Steps 1-3.

Read through the assigned deliverables and execute appropriately and thoroughly. Please ensure your submission is thorough, detailed, and addresses the key concepts. The Assignment is to submit a 1-page summary of your company AND in additional pages thoroughly address Steps 1-3 (your submission will be multiple pages in length).