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12/1/2009 - December 2009 Article: Harnessing The Power of Social Media
Harnessing The Power of Social Media
How to develop a social media strategy that works for your brand
By Robert Bean, Burns Marketing Communications
Lately, it seems you can’t go through a single day without hearing about some form of social media. But just like any fad, the social media craze will soon die out, right? Wrong. Social media is changing the way the world makes decisions. The focus is shifting from search to social – and marketing professionals need to take notice.
Social media presents a never-before-seen opportunity – the chance for businesses of all sizes to build closer, better relationships with their customers. Now, organizations have the power to truly harness customer loyalty and word-of-mouth to strengthen their brands and drive more business.
Opinions do matter.
Studies have shown that consumers are more likely to trust what their friends – and even complete strangers – have to say over company-created messages. You need only look to the success of such web sites as Amazon, TripAdvisor, and Epinions to know this is true.
These early forms of social media proved that user-generated content could affect sales, especially for retail-focused purchase decisions. Then, online networks built solely around people with similar interests or situations (i.e., parents, patients, enthusiasts, etc.) began appearing, offering advice on actual life decisions.
The success of social media pioneers is now forcing companies around the globe to play catch-up. From redesigning web sites to encouraging user-generated content, companies are doing anything they can to leverage this latest Internet evolution.
Exploring social media opportunities.
The flexible and ever-evolving nature of social media offers endless opportunities to connect with customers. Each platform provides distinct advantages, but also has potential pitfalls. Therefore, when you develop a social media strategy, you should always consider your audience first. Never decide to do something just because that is what others are doing.
While a number of social media platforms exist, some are more specific to certain industries than others. Generally, the most popular platforms – and often the best places to start developing your strategy – are Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and blogs.
Connect through Facebook.
A social networking web site, Facebook enables users to join networks, communicate with friends, and share information about their lives. Currently, more than 175 million users worldwide are on Facebook.
When a user takes an action, such as becoming a fan of a brand page or interacting with an application, Facebook broadcasts this information to the user’s friends, thus creating communications that are viral in nature. Marketers can capitalize on this feature by increasing brand awareness, test marketing new ideas and products, building relationships with customers, recruiting brand evangelists, and targeting advertising to distinct audiences.
Help your brand be seen.
The largest online video site, YouTube, enables people to upload and share videos and access these videos on web sites, mobile devices, and e-mail. By posting fun, instructional, informational, or viral videos on YouTube, organizations can communicate and interact with customers. Additional advantages include improving search engine optimization and word-of-mouth marketing. Ideal for larger organizations, brand channels are official YouTube pages that house all videos specific to that organization, including customer seminars, training videos, advertisements, and more.
What are people tweeting about you?
The fast growing social networking web site, Twitter, helps people stay connected in real-time. Each live update, or tweet, creates a unique URL – a permanent and searchable record that can help organizations learn more about their customers and their needs and respond accordingly.
Twitter can prove especially helpful in monitoring what people are saying about your brand, products, competitors, and other keywords that relate to your business. By staying informed on what others are saying about all aspects of your business, you can better service your customers and capitalize on opportunities as they present themselves.
Twitter is an ideal platform for delivering promotions, recruiting brand evangelists, surveying current and potential customers, and building awareness.
Make the most of your professional network.
LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site that helps people expand and use their professional network. While not as fun as Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn offers the opportunity for recruiting, strengthening word-of-mouth communications, targeting advertising to distinct audiences, and connecting with like-minded people and organizations. By participating in groups, you can gain insight on important trends and topics affecting your industry, as well as help position yourself and your company as a thought leader.
To blog or not to blog…
A frequently updated web site, a blog features commentary or news on topics related to your brand or industry. When used correctly, blogs can help companies develop relationships with their customers, uncover insight into their customers’ wants and needs, and position themselves as industry experts. Additionally, blogs can greatly boost search engine visibility.
Before you begin blogging, ask yourself if your organization has the resources to add fresh content on a regular basis. Also, you’ll need to balance the open and honest nature of blogging with your company’s confidentiality policy. Without keeping these key criteria in mind, you could be setting your blog up to fail from the start.
Don’t let your brand get left out of the conversation.
Getting favorable publicity for your organization grows more complicated with each passing day. Of course, today’s tightening budgets aren’t making your job any easier. It’s time to tap into all available opportunities and harness the power of new technologies.
So, how to know what channels are right for your brand? You need to conduct research and gain insight into your target audiences. Depending on the size of your organization, you may decide to purchase tools that scour user-generated content, tracking mentions of your brand. You could also choose to do the research yourself or hire a marketing firm with experience in social media marketing. The advantage to the latter is that an experienced marketing agency can help you identify opportunities, tailor your strategy appropriately, and implement your specific projects.
Whatever you do, don’t ignore social media. It’s here to stay, and when properly integrated into your marketing plan, it can make a major difference in your success.
Robert Bean is the interactive director of Burns Marketing Communications, a BMA Colorado member company, and a full-service marketing firm in northern Colorado that provides strategic marketing, comprehensive public relations programs, complete creative services, social media marketing, and interactive development. Discover how Burns Marketing can help you connect with your customers in more meaningful, long-lasting ways by visiting www.burnsmarketing.com.
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