Exclusive Q&A with Amir Zonozi of Zoomph
With the oversaturation of social media platforms, posting online can feel like you’re trying to shout above everyone in the middle of Times Square. How do you create something that will stand out and stop people in their tracks? Amir Zonozi of Zoomph chimes in on impactful posting, and offers up tips on how to shine socially at Demand Success 2014.
Tell me a little about what Zoomph does and what your role is there.
We call Zoomph the ‘social media Swiss army knife’ of solutions. We provide today’s most comprehensive set of tools so marketers can create collaborative storytelling on their terms.
Our origins say it all: Zoomph started as a project with the State Department for high-profile events with both President Obama and Former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. We looked across the market and were frustrated with the limitations of other social tools. So we took the matter into our hands, creating a social media tool that we knew social media professionals could use successfully. That solution grew into the highly sought-after platform we have today. But what really distinguishes us is our ability to not just source content, but to target the most relevant and influential content through an array of visualizations—all designed with engagement as the premier goal.
As Chief Strategy Officer, my role is to build a road map that aligns our passionate team of experts with our amazing clients’ missions and goals to continuously push innovation in our industry.
What are the top 3 most important factors when creating an impactful social media post?
1. Make sure it’s relevant. Real-time marketing gives a huge boost to having your content connect with people, because it shows—not just tells—audiences that you’re sharing the same experiences.
2. Make it less about you, and more about your audience. I can’t stress this enough, because it’s about human dynamics. Just like when you talk to people offline, if the conversation is a one-sided brag, people start to tune you out.
3. Every social media channel has its own culture and norms, just like different behaviors are acceptable at different venues. For example, you wouldn’t behave the same way in a bar as you would in the office. Optimize your content for the social channel it is on.
Can you elaborate on a campaign or some client work you’re particularly proud of?
We are extremely fortunate to work with innovative and industry-leading clients like Mary Kay, the State Department, the Baltimore Orioles, the Washington Wizards and the Washington Capitals. But what I am most proud of (and this is the geek in me), is a recent addition to our platform and campaign we are just about to kick off.
Sure, social walls/displays at live events are a no brainer for social engagement, but this generally requires laptops and HDMI cables to connect and make this happen. It wasn’t a challenge per se, that’s just the way it was, but we saw and opportunity and knew we could make the experience simpler and even better for marketers. Now, all you need is a Chromecast, Zoomph, and your smartphone (iPhone or Android) to stream collaborative, user-generated content in real-time.
We’re an on-the-go team too, so we know that mobility is a game-changer. For live events, the ability to orchestrate every display from one app is huge and lets our clients be where they need to be, when they want to be.
As a sponsor of Vocus’ Demand Success 2014 conference, what are you most looking forward to at the event?
No question, definitely the side conversations. Vocus really went out of their way to join an impressive group of top-quality keynote speakers—and with that follows a great audience with tons of industry insight. I love connecting with live Tweeters and chatting with people between sessions and during breaks, because that’s when you make real connections that last. This is going to be a fantastic conference, and we’re very honored to be a part of it.
[contact/]We all know that everyone will be utilizing social media at Demand Success 2014. What should conference goers do to ensure their content stands out from the crowd?
Post with personality. Most live-Tweeters post direct quotes from speakers, which is great—they are the speakers for a reason! But my advice to stand out would be to take a moment to marinate and give your unique spin on things.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I’d love to connect with anyone at the conference, and am excited to share with other industry titans. Feel free to Tweet me @Zonozi or @Zoomph. We will be there and ready to have some fun at Demand Success 14.
