In the last 6 months or so, people have asked me “what is social media?”, “how do you use it?”, “why do you do it?”, “what exactly is your job?” I’ll try (hopefully) to give you a brief introduction to social media, some tips, and why companies, from large conglomerates to small businesses, should be using it.
Social networks are online conversations. It’s the ‘new word of mouth’: conversations that used to take place offline now take place online in ‘viral ecosystem’ type communities. Viral is the keyword here, as if a topic was provocative/interesting enough to spread online like small town gossip; this is what we call digital interaction. Surely you have all heard of Twitter, Facebook, Linked IN, Flickr, YouTube, etc., and if not… WHERE ARE YOU??? In social terms, these communities allow us to interact with friends, catch up on the latest news, see who’s flying high, who isn’t, and generally have fun interacting online. In marketing terms, these are all potential gold mines.
If you put it in perspective; Facebook, for example, now has a user base that, if it were a country, would be the fourth most populous place in the world! Just this week it was announced that Facebook has now surpassed 300 million users across all demographics AND is now making enough money to cover its costs. These are statistics you can no longer choose to ignore. So what would you say to a company whose competitor is doing a lot of social media, but they see it as a waste of time, since they are lucky these days to have a big budget for mainstream advertising?
I would say break away from the old school ‘shout our loudest message’ advertising model and go for it. Consider that the average person is exposed to more than 3,000 advertising messages every day. 1. Consider that messaging and interaction is no longer one-way, but multi-way between all stakeholders. So why invest all that surplus cash, when most people will ignore your message, your message will be too mainstream, and you’ll be able to reach a much more targeted audience DIRECTLY online through conversations at a much cheaper cost and in real time? ROI is high with social media as the only cost is human capital.
Social Media has evolved marketing, with a new ‘communication model’. Today customers want more; They don’t just want a source of information, they want interaction and brand recognition. When they buy products they like to buy the whole brand, this is particularly true among our future generations, the millennials, of whom 96% have joined a social network.
2. Don’t abandon traditional methods entirely, as social media is a compliment, not a replacement, and compliment is really the key word here. There is a need to use social media to support existing messaging, not replace it entirely.
Using it is all about being smart. Once you join, you have to realize that you are no longer in control; You must relinquish control. Now this is where people get scared, but it works. There is usually much more respect for brands that are on social networks than for those that are not.
But first you have to listen, only then you have to engage and interact and then engage your customers. You can’t just use social media to spread your messages, you have to talk to them about what they want to talk about and be honest. Of course you can use social media to influence the conversation, but you have to realize that honesty is the ONLY policy on social media and if you are too corporate or pushy you will put people off.
Some brands have communities and official accounts, as this can be a good way to try to link all the conversations together, keep them on track, and avoid profanity.
“But how can it really benefit my business?” I hear you ask…
o Facilitates conversations between all stakeholders, providing direct connections
o Targets those consumers who have moved away from traditional media
o Provides behavioral insights and innovation through connections
o Multiple profiles – leads to organic growth among search page rankings
o Increase brand profile/reach
How have we benefited from social media?
Social media has opened up many new opportunities for us that we never thought possible before. We have had interest from new markets and we have started dialogues with people who are potential partners. We set up our own Twitter page about five months ago and were amazed at the amount of engagement almost immediately. Today, Twitter is one of our top go-to sites, not just for our own website, but also for the campaigns we’ve worked on. By maintaining engagement levels, you constantly keep your customers/target audience engaged, bringing you ever closer to your customers first hand.
It’s early days though and we’re looking at ways right now to try and quantify social media into real ROI for our corporate clients as we constantly hear ‘the conversation is great but where’s the value?’ – This is where, as marketers, we need to see and tangibly demonstrate grey: it’s not just black and white anymore.
So… it’s here to stay, it’s not a fad, it’s a fundamental and undeniable change in the way we communicate with current and potential customers, so don’t be left behind! Even the government is on Twitter and if Barack Obama used social media to reach the White House3, we can all use social media to reach customers.
Footnotes
1. Shenk, David. Data smog – Surviving information overload. Harper Edge, 1997.
2. The National Association of School Boards. Just talking.blogspot.com. http://simply-talking.blogspot.com/2007/08/social-networking-in-education.html
3. Brooks, rich. What companies can learn from Barack Obama’s social media strategy. Jan. 30, 2009. http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/rich-brooks/social-media-strategies-small-business/what-businesses-can-learn-barack-obamas-soci
