Many companies, both large and small, regard social media as a shiny new and potentially very effective marketing tool. However, before rushing off to build yet another corporate branded social network, let’s explore where Social Media Marketing can provide real value and genuine commercial returns.
There are generally accepted five areas where measurable returns are achievable from a successful social media marketing campaign. These are:
- Improved Brand / Company Awareness
- Improved Links & Viral Activity
- Enhanced Brand Perception & Reputation
- Increased Sales
- Closer Consumers
Brand / Company Awareness
One of the first and most obvious benefits of social media is the incredible reach this provides. Take any of the major social networks, with millions of active users; never before has it been possible to position your company or brand before so many people at so little cost. By offering users of these sites an application that is fun or adds value to their social interaction thousands of potential new customers can be reached overnight, including many who will have never heard of you before they were invited to ‘add your application’. TripAdvisor’s “Local Picks” and “Where I’ve Been” are two examples of social network applications that have delivered thousands of new users, greatly extended the organisation’s reach and increased brand awareness.
Improved Links & Viral Activity
The main power of social networks is the ability to spread the word, rapidly to millions of people, and include many who are often difficult to reach. This viral activity is driven by users sharing interesting items with friends, colleagues, or anyone on ‘their network’. While most of these exchanges go straight to the recycle bin, some find their way onto PC screens or the user’s ‘inbox’ and in so doing gain a few seconds of valuable attention. Social bookmarks, such as Digg, Del.icio.us, Newsvine and Reddit, use link share activity to let others know which items are popular and worthy of attention. Since social bookmarking is generally free and carried out ‘in context’ it not only beats every form of ‘paid for’ marketing, but also provides a major boast to a company’s or brand’s own Search Engine popularity and ranking - which as we know can only bring in more business.
Brand & Reputation Enhancement
If an experience is fun, upbeat, or interesting users quickly form a positive association with the provider. Encouraging users to share this experience with others helps builds reputation for both the user and the brand. In this way a shared positive (or negative) experience can have as significant an impact on the way a brand is perceived as a very expensive mass media marketing campaign. By carefully managing this social interaction companies can (still) maintain ownership of both brand building and the reinforcement of their positive brand values. However the opposite is also true, if left alone these social conversations can quickly spin out of control and lead of all sorts of unwanted outcomes. This is why many businesses dislike review sites as these require they take an active interest in what their customers are saying, and respond in a timely and appropriate manner. A negative review on TripAdvisor e.g. that goes unanswered will have a significant impact on how a hotel is perceived and therefore cannot be ignored. Staying on top of these reviews should now an essential part of every marketing department’s daily work routine.
Increased Sales
With a few exceptions, Last.fm is one that springs to mind, social networks will generally not provide ‘buy now’ links. Their value is in influencing the purchase decision rather than in making the sale. That said, if the blogshere likes you, rest assured sales will follow. Encouraging respected and will read sites, bloggers and ’social networkers’ to provide a review can only help drive sales. Just don’t try bribery or inducements, as these will quickly turn and bite the corporate conspirator. The best way to generate sales through social media is to show just how good your product really is and to do this in a creative way and compelling way. If the show is interesting, fun or even educational it becomes essential viewing for thousands of future consumers. And if you can’t afford the hosting or the marketing yourself; sites such as YouTube, MySpace, etc. provide ideal distribution platforms for your latest creative video promo.
Closer Consumers
Let’s face it, the more you know about your customer the better you should be in providing the perfect product or ideal service. Getting closer to the customer means listening to their comments, observations and suggestions and provides every business with real opportunities to improve. Before social media this form of dialogue was very costly and time consuming, and usually only carried out by professional research companies. Today every business can get this feedback, easily and at relatively low cost - if they want it!
Providing customers with reasons to feel part of your community can only help your business grow in the longer term. How and in what way you build these communities and engage your customers is ultimately what differentiates you from everyone else.
Good luck and enjoy the conversations.
