Social media expert leads off Russell Series

September 15, 2010

Erik Qualman, a social media and technology expert, delivered this year’s first Russell Series lecture on Social Media on Tuesday, September 14.

Qualman spoke about the principles in his bestseller Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business.

“You’ll use social media no matter what field you decide to enter,” Qualman told the crowd of students in Belk Auditorium.

Qualman discussed the impact that social media sites have on commerce, typically saving time and reducing stress for consumers often bombarded with product choices. He also pointed out the increase in the popularity of social media sites over the last three years. For example, Facebook, now the most popular site on the internet, wasn’t one of the 20 most popular sites in 2007.

Qualman stressed, however, that companies should use social media correctly to be effective.

“The four basic steps to have success are to listen, interact, react, and sell,” he said.

Listening means paying attention to what’s being said about a product or service. Interacting means joining the conversation. Reacting means adjusting to a product or service based on consumer comments. And selling means making the product or service available to consumers, according to Qualman.

“A lot of CEO’s ask, ‘Where does social media reside in the organization?’ in public relations, marketing, customer service, sales?’” Qualman said. “The answer is, ‘Yes, it’s all of these.’”

Qualman is a frequently requested international speaker and has been highlighted in numerous media outlets including BusinessWeek, the New York Times, CNET, San Francisco Chronicle, Mashable, Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, Forbes, CBS Nightly News, and the Huffington Post. For the past 15 years Qualman has helped grow the online marketing and eBusiness capabilities of many companies including Education First, Cadillac, EarthLink, Yahoo, Pontiac, Travelzoom and AT&T. He is a columnist for Search Engine Watch and SES Magazine, while also owning the social media blog “socialnomics.”

Qualman holds a BA from Michigan State University and an MBA from The University of Texas. He is currently the global vice president of Online Marketing for EF Education, the world's largest private education company. He was Academic All-Big Ten in basketball at Michigan State.

posted by Stacy Dyer '96
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