I had the pleasure of interviewing Scott Monty, global head of social media for Ford Motor Company, at the 2013 New Media Expo. First of all, I have to say he is a very nice man. And he is also one smart cookie. He had some great tips that all of us can use to rock the social media space like Ford does.
Here are some of the takeaways from the interview:
#1 Tell a story that people want to share.
We talked about the Focus Doug campaign that was very successful for them. If you missed it, Focus Doug was a spokespuppet that was fun and a little edgy. They had over 4 million combined views and they have people begging Ford to bring him back.
#2 Be fun.
This is social media people, don’t be boring. You don’t always have to stick to business topics on social media – you can have some fun, too.
#3 Use specific targeting.
Know your demographic and go after them. It’s much easier to do online. Use advertising to reach people with your fun content so they can find out more about you and your product.
#4 Have a conversation calendar.
Loved this tip from Scott. It’s not an editorial calendar, it’s a conversation calendar. Map out what you want to talk about and allow for some gaps to have those conversations.
#5 Have different content for different platforms.
This can be a tough one! We know the pressure to create content but you have to just sit down and do it. Set aside a little time each week to plan your content on each platform and measure what works.
I also just had to share this great article that summarized Scott’s keynote speech: 10 Social Media Lessons Learned from Ford – Scott Monty New Media Expo Keynote. A fantastic post from my new friend Tom Treanor who I met there. Great stuff!
And don’t forget to connect with Ford (and Scott Monty) and watch what they are doing for more social media inspiration. Connect with them here:
Once again, thanks so much for the interview, Scott! Keep up the great work over there at Ford! Love ya!
To all my readers out there, what are your thoughts about how brands (and Ford) are doing social media? What makes you follow these brands? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
Grandma Mary – You really scored when you got this interview. It’s informative as well as fun! (And who knew that cars could get over 100mpg?). Thank you!
Grandma Mary. My radar must have been out at the shop when you wrote this. I missed it until now!