Ok, Erindale is in the bag, new connection options are now available, the markets are settling down, and you’re thinking to yourself; ‘Self, maybe I should start checking out some of the other aspects of this Empire Avenue thingie’.
You’ve got a blog, maybe tweet a lot, have finally hooked up your flickr account and discovered that old Polaroid in the closet, hooked up your YouTube account, and have a facebook link and fan page. Excellent, these all contribute to your Empire Avenue share value -- which is cool; that’s you bringing your external activity into Empire Avenue. But what can you get ‘out’ of Empire Avenue that will help you with your social media activities? As the title suggests, I’ve got a few ideas, based on developing your presence in your ‘community’. Read on, gentle reader, read on...
Networking
Empire Avenue offers huge networking opportunities.
- Board Meetings are basically meatspace meetups where you can put a real face to a Ticker symbol, hoist a few libations and hang out with a few other geographically close Influencers. And maybe benefit in some way (wink wink, nudge nudge).
- Communities offer a great way to connect with others who share a similar social media niche. Want to check out what others are doing in your space, then join appropriate Interest communities. What’s that? One for left-handed-basket weavers doesn’t exist yet? Ping us, if there’s enough interest, we’ll create one!
- Guest writers can often be found in the memberships of communities too. It’s a lot of work to create a blog post on a regular basis.
Brands
Ah yes, the holy grail of business connectivity.
- Connections - Brands, or Verified Influencers -- for example, check out Calgary Social Media -- an interesting community that focuses on a particular geographic niche -- replicate that in your region or niche and you’re a thought leader :)
- Sponsors - So you’ve noticed that we’ve got a few large organizations on Empire Avenue, such as Sears, Motorola and WestJet. Well, me bucko, they’re amongst the few cool big businesses that really ‘get’ social media, and they’re dipping their collective toe (if there is such a thing) in the water. So pull on it! See if they’re up for a blog sponsorship, or more! If you don’t ask, you’ll never know...
- Reviews -- c'est même chose
Yes, reviews. Similar to sponsorships, yet slightly different. By hitting up the appropriate brands in your niche, you can likely score relevant product for you to review and document for your audience. Remember, it’s all about your peeps...keep them happy and you’ll have work for life :D
Competition, comparison and improvement
Get off you’re comfy chair and take a risk! Engage your competition, encourage comparison, and embrace suggestions for improvement.
- Who’s sharing your niche?
Have you researched them? Have you challenged their assumptions in your blog posts, or in comments on theirs? Have you asked them to guest post on your blog? If not, why not? These folk are not only your competitors, they can be your compatriots, if approached in the right way.
As you’ve seen from my suggestions, the social media engagement opportunities on Empire Avenue are actually pretty cool! You can hook up with major brands, industry thought leaders, and niche specialists. It’s all in the way you choose to utilize the tool.
Give it a go. I dare you. And let us know how it works out!