The Business of Chatter
What is Social Media?
Social Media is not advertising, and it should not be treated as such. Online advertising is another topic for discussion. Social Media is word of mouth. In case you live under a rock, Twitter and Facebook are currently the most popular tools of the trade. These free tools enable your company to publish a message and distribute it quickly to the masses. Unfortunately, online tools like this are short lived. A typical product life cycle on the web is 6 months. Which means, the moment you learn the tool, it becomes obsolete.
Why jump into something that may only be here for 6 months?
Just because a tool like Twitter may only be popular for 6 months, doesn’t mean Social Media is going away. The social aspect of the web is here to stay. Taking advantage of, or testing, Social Media is a smart move, provided you don’t shortchange your current marketing strategy.
The Role of Social Media in Business
When used incorrectly, Social Media is a complete waste of company time. When used correctly, Social Media can become a powerful public relations platform, lead generation tool and brand advocate.
Bad Rap: “Social Media is a Waste of Time”
An example of this wasted time would be employees using Social Media to tell others about their weekend plans while on company time. Obviously, there is a major fault with this message, especially while on company time. However, the major problem here is NOT with the message but how the message was constructed.
Message Strategy: Building Relationships
This employee has created a one sided discussion, a bad sales technique. If this message was turned into a question, asking others what their weekend plans are, we’re getting somewhere. Your employee has now engaged a potential customer with an invitation to enter the discussion. – The start of any good sales relationship.
Although tons of businesses are flocking to this space, very few actually understand how to use it. Remember, do not treat Social Media like advertising or traditional media. You’re building relationships, not hard selling a product or service. Would you walk up to potential customers and hand them a press release? No, you would first introduce yourself, talk about how crappy Auburn is this year, brag about the kids, and illustrate the company’s value over time. If you’ve built a solid relationship and your product or service is worth it, they will buy into your message.
Message Compounding: Viral Spreading
This below video not only illustrates the general nature of Social Media but also touches on the idea of message compounding and brand advocacy on the web.
Bad Press: Damage Control and Crisis Management
The most intimidating factor about Social Media, and reason why most business refuse to enter this space is fear of negative press reaching the masses. This is a valid fear. However, you can’t stop others from speaking negatively about your brand. What you can do is at least listen or take a more proactive approach by joining the conversation.
Web 2.0: Consumer Transparency
Right now we are in a stage of the internet codenamed “2.0″. People are sharing what once was considered personal information. From a business perspective, this stage includes consumers voicing their brand experiences. Companies have started to take note, but to a large degree still choose to listen, not talk back. Currently business managers are leveraging Social Media as a research tool to gauge what customers are saying about their brand, trying to learn from the “for-all-to-see” revolution. If customer feedback is negative, adjustments are made within the company to solve the problem. At a minimum your business should be leveraging Social Media in this way. A more effective solution, in addition to making adjustments within the company, would be to send a quick public and honest reply or solution to defuse the most damaging complaints.
Web 3.0: Business Transparency
This stage is building as we speak. This will be all about companies joining the conversation, if only to get their side of the story in front of the mass audience. Expect smart companies to be increasingly able to post their apologies and solutions, preferable alongside comments from unhappy customers. Expect the same for candid rebuttals by companies who feel (and can prove) that a particular review is unfair or inaccurate, and want to share their side of the story.
Silence: Starting from nothing
Starting a Social Media account like Facebook doesn’t mean people will come. If your business is not worth talking about, no one will talk about it. The solution to this problem is simple. You must create something worth talking about.
Create something worth talking about
- Revisit your product or service
- Traditional advertising or public relations
- Start an online buzz
Online Buzz: Low Investment, High Potential
There is no formula for creating a successful online “buzz”. Whether this buzz is a website or video, the only guarantee is the requirement of something remarkable. This takes some creative thinking but if the concept hits a chord within your audience and is worth sharing in Social Media, it has the potential to compound and reach a very large audience with little investment.