It’s been no surprise that a bevy of companies are jumping onto the social media marketing scene because of the buzz surrounding the positive perks social media can provide a company. However, we’ve stressed enough that just having an account is not enough. Activity on these platforms is critical. Without activity, you’re no better off than when you had no social media
WeberShandwick released a study showing us that a majority of Fortune 100 companies have a Twitter account (73 of 100) but most of them weren’t using their accounts effectively. Many failed to tweet on a regular basis and/or didn’t have any personality when doing so. The result? Many of the accounts were inactive (15%) and more than half had a low follower base of less than 500.
The success of social media marketing is dependent on how successful you are in engaging your consumer. The study noted that over half of the companies did not display any “personality” and thus became a “faceless” brand. Users can’t relate to nobody. If you’re not trying to relate, chances are you won’t be as successful as Twitter sensations @Zappos or @HomeDepot, who have gone above and beyond in engaging users. It was also noted that a majority of these company accounts were all about marketing the brand and offering nothing more. Remember that consumers can easily detect a marketing ploy. We live in an era where advertisements are ubiquitous and consumers can easily ignore them when they aren’t interested.
Another issue the study addressed was that many of the businesses didn’t know how to use the social media marketing platform for increased sales. These companies can take note from a few exemplary examples on the list. For instance, Dell has managed to announce sales, coupons, special offers and Twitter-exclusive offers to sell millions of dollars worth of products. Other successful companies used it for customer service to address complaints from users (similar to @Zappos and @HomeDepot). Social media marketing can be a great resource for your company, provided you use it properly.
Written by: Daisy K.