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A growing number of Fortune 50 companies are embracing this technology as a way to increase their footprint, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8), yet companies like Apple use little or no social media, relying instead on more traditional forms of marketing (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34329873/ns/business-the_big_money/)to drive their business. It's worth your time to check them both out! (Thanks to my friend Paul R. for cluing me in to both links!).
Honestly, I have not given very much thought to this yet. I know next to nothing about social media, but I am spending an increasing amount of time thinking about it. I see compelling reasons for using it to reach out, but have a hard time seeing the value of Tweeting about my every move. Not only does it take away from what I am doing, but why would anyone care that I am eating a burger or brushing my teeth? Am I missing something here, or just not seeing the whole picture?
What are your thoughts on social media? Help me understand the broader picture. How can organizations best use this form of marketing effectively without driving minutiae?
Social media, as it is, can be adapted by business to do the same things and some business have started to do just that. As with individual social media, business use of social media is primarily a substitute for face-to-face communication. In the past when businesses were smaller the face of a business was in the store, and many times the owner or the neighbor from down the street. They were connecting, communicating and sharing with their customers. Today with larger companies, marketing departments are learning that they have become disconnected with their customers. Social Media connections are looked at as inexpensive was to develop a connection.
ReplyDeleteAs a Knowledge Management professional I do see Social Media as an important connecting point, however I also see it as a start, not an end to rebuild a lost connection with the customer. For a business what you are doing right now should be more aligned to the companies core business. For example: If the company is a retailer, you could say, “getting ready for a big 20% off sale on Tuesday.”, instead of “I’m eating a burger.” Using polls to ask individuals what they think of a proposed new line of clothes or to pick between two proposed “looks” for the fall (as opposed using polls about movie or TV gossip). That is what the value of social media brings to the business.
Unfortunately, social media (like facebook and twitter) has only been embraced largely by younger users, therefore a disconnect still exists with other demographics. Business is also missing out on using social media concepts in communicating with suppliers and business customers. Remember the days when EDI was big and the future of business? Later companies built WAN and Private Networks to keep in communications going within the extended business. These connections can be enhanced with the use of some social media concepts.
Ken
Ken, I agree that social media can serve as the new face-to-face interaction between a business and its customer. But I also believe the information that is exchanged has to be relevant to the individual. Using social media to say you're having a 20% Off Sale is basically mass advertising in a different media. But if you tell me I can save 20% on something of particular interest to me (just like the store owner used to do) then you've got something.
ReplyDeletePaul
Perhaps social media should not be seen (or used) as a replacement for direct interaction with a potential/existing customer, but as a adjunct form of interaction?
ReplyDeleteIf social media can be tailored to be customer specific, allowing the company to become closer to their individual customers, could that not be seen as direct interaction with the customer?
Paul, I agree that you would want to have a deeper understanding of the specific needs of the connected person. My example was directed toward Peter's comment that no-one would want to know he is eating a burger. That said, the current use of social media by businesses IS "mass advertising" and probably will not move from that. People that use social media are actually cautioned against giving too much personal information, so a company would not be able to mine a persons needs/wants. The store manager gets to know a person by seeing them over time and gaining a trust, this would probably not be true of any online site, unless you have a custom site like Amazon that tracks every which way a unique user navigates a site (to Peter's point/question) but this is done under the covers and may not be as holistic as needed. For example a person on Amazon buy three books, Amazon thinks this individual is interested in all three, but two of the books are presents, Amazon may or may not know this fact. A store manager that knows the individual may ask or be told "I'm looking to buy a book for Aunt Bessy", the Mgr may know Bessy and give advise, or know that people like Bessy may also like other books.
ReplyDeleteFriends of mine in Norway use Facebook for their business to get the word out that something the general public expects to be sold by their business is being provided "Hot" on Monday. Customers then know to get an order in or be at the business early to get "first dibs".
What companies using social media need to do is to actively talk and discuss current and future trends with customers. This would also include a poll, then a discussion, kind of like a focus group. This goes beyond static or near static sites, but require having a dedicated "blogger" or "socializer" that will really interact with the customer.
So to extend (thinking on the fly) the "Getting ready for a big 20% off sale", once said by the company they should expect people to ask "does that include xyz", and the socializer would respond "yes, what colors are you looking for?", "Do you know that that item would go well with abc." If it's clothes the socializer would then need to understand what the purchaser already has in their closet, etc.
It's Social Media, you have to SOCIALIZE!!
Ken
Would not social media outlets, like Twitter, be ideal for a retailer wanting to let their customers know about, f. ex. a new product launch, a celebrity visiting a store, etc. etc.?
ReplyDeleteIs there a better way to create "instant communication" between two entities that would not necessarily otherwise communicate with each other?
Peter
Peter,
ReplyDeleteNothing to stop you from using Social Media to do this, but it can also be done via the companies web site so why duplicate your effort? As Paul said you are just using it as a mass media outlet and unless your target is always on the internet your twitter message my not get seen. Also remember, heavy users of facebook will have many updates showing on their page and your message may get lost.
Other ways of getting out the word could include RSS feeds, blogs, radio ...
The internet is not instant communication to everyone. I've sent messages out to people and later find that they only look at eMail once a week or only late a night when the kids are asleep. Not everyone has a blackberry or windows phone that dings when a message comes in the eMail or a freind update facebook or twitter.
Then there is the "overload" factor. Too many messages and people will ignor them. Getting customers involved in the new product launch by asking them what new products should be launched (use a poll, or Q&A). Telling them the launch is happening tomorrow is too late to be social.
It would be far better to use facebook to ask what types of products people want to be offered in the store in July before the buyer buys, so the store has what the customer wants a Xmas, instead of telling them bell bottoms are on sale at thanksgiving ;-)
The store celeb twitter/facebook entry may work, but still not much different than putting it on your website or sending a mass eMail. IMHO
Ken
Social media has 2 to 3 main dimensions that combined make it powerful: it's 2-way, it's a public record that is searchable and its massively scalable. That is the crux of it. Using it in a traditional media broadcast way, which many people are doing successfully by the way, mitigates the true potential but allows another channel to open up to new prospects and clients. We can learn from lessons of other new interactive communication channel attempts like the mutation of 800#s popping up everywhere in the 1980s only to be outsourced to people in other countries in the 2000s and therefore lost its effectiveness. We can learn from direct mail and email that eventually turned to junk and spam. We can also learn from instant messaging which turned from an intriguing social media into one for stalkers and its own flavors of abuse (interestingly it now has an embedded role in larger new platforms like facebook, myspace, gaming platforms, etc.). The public record aspect of it promotes transparency and self-regulation. I agree with the overload factor mitigating effectiveness of in the various media mutation using the internet. The massively scalable "free" aspect of it is both a blessing and a curse. Those that use it judiciously can benefit greatly, those that don't are quickly revealed and either tolerated due to their compelling message/offering or quickly discarded/ignored. The building noise factor requires better search decision technology which has been alluded to here.
ReplyDelete