What is Social Media: Social media is user generated content that is published in communication formats that allow some level of user interaction. It is editable, participative, and connective.
Why should you be using social media: Like blogging, everyone’s doing it but not everyone is doing it well. The ones who have integrated social media into their marketing strategies have found increased web traffic through SEO, more inbound links and brand awareness, as well as increased customer loyalty. Plus, it is relatively low cost and compatible with traditional marketing.
Consider the following pit fall from Dell: In ‘05, angry Dell customers blogged about Dell’s horrible customer service. The posts were so popular that a forum named “Dell Hell” was created. Dell took a hit and received negative coverage from media juggernauts New York Times and Wall Street Journal. To counter the bad press, Dell first dispatched technicians to appease the problem of angry bloggers and earned them some positive online buzz. Dell then created its own company blog, called DIRECT2DELL. Post damage control, Dell saw a 27 point decrease in negative blog posts, which would have cost hundreds of millions of dollars in ad campaigns to put out the same fire.
C’mon, get out there:
- Keep updated on your social media trend. (i.e. MySpace was recently overtaken by Facebook as the top social networking website.
- Don’t be afraid to let your company have a personality but pick the right one to suit your target audience. Likewise, pick the right social media for your audience.
- “Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver and the other’s gold.” Not just a Girl Scout rhyme anymore! When you make new friends via social media, the chances of building links back to your website grows with each new addition.
- Twitter (or microblogging) exploded because it provides easy to read and digest live coverage of company updates. Take Zappos, for example, which now has 325 of its employees on Twitter. All of the accounts are actively engaging potential customers because they’re multiplying their efforts. It makes the company personal and personable. Furthermore, Zappos’ group of “Twitterers” has now corralled 325 different circles of influence at the disposal of the company.
- Companies are going to YouTube to directly communicate with current and potential clients. It’s a no-brainer: would you rather watch a short 30-second video about a company or read the same content in a minute and not retain anything.
- Remember: your brand can live anywhere, not just on your website.
