Logicalis Talks Social Media: Is it Hype or Ripe?
Social media allows managed services providers (MSPs) to have a dialog with clients. How does that work for managed service providers? Logicalis Vice President of Marketing Lisa Dreher (pictured) says that social media enables her company to share current experiences while giving people an inside look into what is happening.
Logicalis, an MSPmentor 100 company, uses a variety of social media networks from Twitter to LinkedIn, and YouTube. “We also write a blog, HypeorRipe.com, that features industry hot topics and asks the readers to vote if the topic posed is 'hype' or 'ripe' based on what they see and experience” says Dreher. It's a good example of a social media best practice: company blogs should target the company's primary readers.
Find out where your audience is communicating
Dreher acknowledges that every MSP is not the same, so she recommends that each learn where its clients communicate. “Find out where your audience is communicating, what they are interested in, and start talking. Twitter may work for your competitor, but not you,” says Dreher.
Create a dialogue and share
Your audience wants a dialogue with you, and they're willing to share your content, if it's useful, according to Dreher. “Social media networks allow us to have a dialogue with our audience and share information that is relevant to them in a timely manner,” she says.
“For example, we can send a direct mail piece to invite people to an event, but via social media, we can share live experiences and give people an inside look into what is happening like we did with live Tweets during our recent Fast5 live video series. The videos are now available for playback.”
Be involved in relevant conversations
Follow conversations in your industry. If you can provide any insightful input, do so. “Social media provides a wonderful avenue to see what is relevant 'now' and participate,” says Dreher. Going forward, Logicalis will continue to fulfill its duty to educate its market. “We will continue to be involved in conversations where our expertise overlaps a need, question, or topic of interest.”
Logicalis encourages its employees to participate in social media, and, for those new to social networks, provides guidelines for its employees. “If an employee is attending a conference and takes some photographs,” says Dreher, “they are encouraged to share those images with a caption about the event.”
Logicalis employs almost 3,000 people worldwide who design, specify, deploy, and manage ICT (information and communication technology) infrastructures. The company has more than 6,000 corporate and public sector customers.
