Leveraging Social Media as Business Tool

By : Robin Low Leveraging on SOCIAL MEDIA as a business tool

A radical change has occurred in the World of advertising and marketing “ ”

Consumers are not listening anymore Interruptive marketing has seen it’s day Source: http://www.=.com/upload/wysiwyg/M1805/IIR_M1805_Seaton.pdf

The Audience is creating Source: http://www.iirusa.com/upload/wysiwyg/M1805/ IIR_M1805_Seaton.pdf

The Audience is selecting Time Shift technology Source: http://www.iirusa.com/upload/wysiwyg/M1805/ IIR_M1805_Seaton.pdf

The Audience is changing Source: http://www.iirusa.com/upload/wysiwyg/M1805/ IIR_M1805_Seaton.pdf

Consumers control the online environment so brands need to think about facilitating user-created actions, not just user-generated content." Unlike newspapers and TV where the advertisers are speaking at consumers, the Internet allows for more back and forth interaction. Source: http://china.seekingalpha.com/article/30979 “ ” advancements of… digital media

traditional media is dead.
Consumers do not trust advertisements . (They would rather read a review on a blog or a webpage rather than corporate page)
Consumers are immune to interruptive marketing . (too many mediums, too many ads)
Consumers are informed , and information is readily available.
With a global business , it cost too much to reach out to everyone.
With social media, the cost is $0 , no external company needs to be engaged.

what is… social media?
“ Social Media is a group of online media which has the following characteristics.”
Participation
Networks
Two-way communication
Connectivity
Open source

Conversations
… and conversations !
Markets are conversing
Markets are getting smarter, more informed , more organized.
People in networked markets have know that they get far better information and support from each other than from vendors.
The networked market know more than companies do about the products.
Companies that assume online markets are the same markets used to watch their ads on TV are kidding themselves .
Companies that don’t realize their markets are now networked person-to-person, getting smarter as a results and deeply joined in conversation are missing their best opportunity .
Companies can now communicate with their markets directly. If they blow it, it could be their last chance .
Companies that do not belong to a community of discourse will die .
(http://www.cluetrain.com/ #manifesto)

With or without you…
… the conversations will happen !
For a better control of your brand, you must participate in the conversations
Reply to topics you know, share information and build relationships.
Once you trigger a conversation, do not leave it

growth of social media

Importance of… social media
2 way communication – allows feedback, comments
Generate massive amounts of traffic – get attention and links
Viral propagation – Word of Mouth marketing (Invite friends to promote)
Networking – create community / supporters
Branding
Search engine visibility
Low cost / high returns
Compliments marketing efforts – use with advertisements and PR
Market research / customer feedback
Crisis Management – resolve things before they become a crisis
New Communication Channel
Less effort with community sharing / help

brand building & management
Social Media is fast becoming an important tool for managing your brand . As more people use the social media platform to share their opinions, it is important to engage and correct any misconception on your company over the social media sphere.
Word of mouth is key .
A supporter can easily sway opinions and view of their followers for their cause.

I believe in the bloggers and their ideas. They are my friends and will tell me the truth, unlike advertisements. “ ” Source: http://china.seekingalpha.com/article/30979

blogs & Articles
Write articles to inform people about new development and advances of the industry.
Give value and knowledge that people will find useful, for products and services related to your company.
Brand yourself as an “expert” in the industry.
Improve your credibility by sharing knowledge.
Millions of people read articles on ezinearticles.com, blogger.com or wordpress.com everyday.

Build network
Communicate with Fans
Generate awareness
Share photos and videos
Organize events
Get feedback
Facebook

twitter
“ With twitter gaining popularity, number of users greatly increased after celebrities began to use this social media platform. Many people are only beginning to realize the true value in it. ”
Networking
Updated news
Relationships
Information
Entertainment
Alerts on Upcoming Events
Share emotions or talk to someone

The “ satisfaction effect ” Source: http://www.churchofthecustomer.com

Engagement is all about making it relevant to the consumer. “ ” James Speros, Chief marketing officer, Ernst & Young

The editorial/reader relationship is a one-to-one conversation, and in time it creates a bond of trust, of belief, expectation and empathy. It is through the quality of this relationship that an aperture or opening to the reader’s mind and heart is created, through which we advertisers can establish communication. “ ” Advertiser with Readers’ Digest

Attention Engagement The new paradigm

the ultimate goal
Brand community!
Build a non-marketing community outreach to deliver a voice for your organization
Use the buzz power
Reach people where they regroup
Leverage on word of mouth

observations
As the number of channels increase, overall engagement increases at a faster rate.
Engagement differs by industry.
Financial performance correlates with engagement .
It Provides ” Multiple Communication Touch Points” (More touch points can present a ripple effect, inducing viral marketing, boosting brand recognition and driving sales volume.)
http://jeffbullas.com/2009/07/21/report-reveals15-best-practices-of-social-media-implemented-by-the-top-100-brands/#comment-2005

best practices
Listen to public
Deputize people throughout the organization
Understand how each channel provides a different dimension of engagement
Centralize coordination
Find champions who can explain and mitigate risk.
Be in it for the long haul

best practices (cont.)
Pick channels carefully.
Spread engagement to employees beyond the social media team.
Open the platform to anyone and everyone. Encourage employees to tap into social media to get work done
Engage in new channels where people already are
Support engagement as an extension of the company culture.

best practices (cont.)
Be conversational from the start.
Make social media part of the job, just like email
Modularize and synchronize content across channels
To scale engagement, make social media part of everyone’s job.
Emphasize quality, not just quantity.

“ A direct result of not tying activity to an end game, the ability to know what it is we want to measure before we engage. Doing so, allows us to define a strategy and a tactical plan to support activity that helps us reach our goals and objectives.” -- Brian Solis, author and principal of the FurtureWorks agency measuring ROI

personal branding
You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everything else. – Tyler Durden, Fight Club.
Social media tools are becoming mandatory for career success. They are free advertising and give you the ability to connect directly with hiring managers, entrepreneurs and recruiters, instead of applying for jobs through job boards, which are black holes.
Your digital assets — blog, podcast, and social networking profiles — are your online identity and how people discover and connect with you.
You have the ability to leverage one or all of these social media tools in order to present a positive image and be recruited for a position that aligns with your passion.
-- Dan Schawbel (HOW TO: Leverage Social Media for Career Success)

Weak Ties: Defined weak ties (acquaintances, not close friends) enable reaching populations and audiences that are not accessible via strong ties. weak ties

• Weak ties can be powerful, but Challenging to build across cultures, languages, and preferred sites • Weak ties are powerful because they can give you what close friends and community often cannot (e.g., different ideas, connections, resources, models, etc) weak ties (cont)

how can social media help?
Networking - getting to know more people in the industry you want to work in.
Share ideas – let people know who you are and what’s in your mind.
Get news – learn insights about the industry you work in.
Get noticed – good products needs good marketing to sell well, so do you.

Twitter: dmediaacademy Blog: http:// digitalmediaacademy.blogspot.com / Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/digitalmediaacademy jump on the social media bandwagon now!

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Leveraging Social Media as Business Tool

by Robin Low on Mar 09, 2010

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