Newsletter..Every Business can Benefit from.Social Media

Every Business Can Benefit from Social Media

The business evolution (or is it the revolution?) is occurring very rapidly and the business, marketing and advertising industry is struggling to keep up.   For example, there is a disconnect between the excellent results being produced by the literally hundreds of effective social networking sites — the better-known ones including Twitter, Linkedin, and Facebook — and traditional CEO’s, marketing and sales managers’ ability to understand this new media.   Fortunately, an increasing number of the world’s top brands now have social media marketing specialists in their departments.

The media environment is undergoing a revolution the likes of which has not occurred since the very inception of advertising.  The first television advertisement was broadcast on July 1^st 1941, prior to a Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies game — and it took a couple of decades to advance from the Bulova Watches ten-second slot (which featured a still image of a clock and a voiceover) to more sophisticated advertising.  This has been a steep learning curve.   The so called “new media” of mobile, SMS, online, sophisticated voice-web interaction, in-game and a host of other technology driven tools, have been with us only a relatively short while, and all but a few of the cutting edge agencies have been caught flat-footed in their attempts to adjust to the new technology. Most agencies and their clients are still complacently doing what they have been doing for over 60 years.

Social Media…a marketing phenomenon…

Social media is a powerful communications medium that reaches over 500 million people a day.  So what is social marketing?

It is a marketing opportunity that is:

• Disseminated via social interaction
• Uses highly accessible channels
• And published through scalable techniques.

Social media marketing is pull, not push.

• Traditional marketing is push marketing and is old school
• Traditional marketing is expensive
• Pull marketing is results driven, cost effective and measurable.

New techniques such as blogs and Search Engine Optimization are critical.

Top 10 Social Media Tips for Beginners…

1. The time for Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin is now.  To maximize your opportunities, you need to be present on the world’s most popular social networking sites.

2. Be one with Google. Register your web site with Google and Google Maps so customers can find you.  Use Google Alerts to see what the media and bloggers are saying about you.

3. Post every day. Commit to blogging/updating your social media presence as part of your daily business routine. Get your followers into the habit of looking at your latest blog.

4. Find followers. Read blogs and visit web sites to seek those interested in what your company has to say.

5. Engage in conversation. Comment, post, update your status, and offer content that compels responses.

6. Be visual. Utilize video/YouTube to show customers what makes your business different.

7. Social media content should not be the same as your advertising message.               Advertising and social media content are not the same.  Provide real insights into your expertise, not a phony brief message.

8. Find out what your customers think. Encourage customers to ask questions, report concerns and give feedback on your products and service.

9. Pace yourself. You can always increase frequency of content but slowing down can be a red flag.

10. Be patient. Success requires effort and a willingness to adapt to changes you may face.

As Business Week recently stated, “Millions of people are creating content for the social web.  It is highly likely that your competitors are already there and your customers have been there for a long time”.

It is critical that you create a focused plan to leverage social platforms to achieve real business goals.  You need to think about your overall business strategy and the role social media might play in achieving these goals.

There are a number of ways to very effectively leverage social media:

• Public relations
• Customer support
• Market research
• Brand marketing
• Promotions
• Consumer education
• Sales
• Product development
• Customer relationship management

Social media is not a replacement of so called “traditional” media. But it is a true interactive media where the customer can develop a real relationship with you, your products and services, your brand personality and your community spirit.  It enables you to obtain feedback instantly, communicate directly with your customers and potential customers build a loyalty and an advocacy base that cannot be created with traditional media.

Bob’s presentations “15 Keys to Business Success” and “How to Differentiate Yourself and Create a Competitive Advantage” have been delivered to over 510 corporations, including 65 Fortune 500 companies and are still Bob’s most popular presentations.   This is Bob’s busiest year to date with bookings from 5 continents so far this year.  For enquiries about Bob’s availability or fees please contact me by email at [email protected]