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Social Media & Pre-Sliced American Cheese
A lot can be said about how we portray ourselves and our businesses through social media channels. Some advisers will recommend not to post anything that may alienate your audience (the “pre-sliced American cheese” or “greatest common denominator” philosophy).
But there is more to social media than being non-offensive or inclusive. The trick is to be non-offensive, inclusive AND CON¬CURRENTLY: interesting, available, current, occasionally funny, informative, and not-too-busy-to-pay-attention-but-not-too-idle-to-over post. Oh, and ditch the social media ‘I just opened my account’ generic page/avatar uniform as soon as you can (Need help? Give us a buzz).
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For those companies trying to figure out how to use emerging and popular social media as part of a new business model, General Motors may have found the answer.
The automaker giant, looking for new and cutting edge ways to connect with current customers and improve customer relations, has embraced Twitter and Facebook to connect directly with GM auto owners experiencing issues.
GM has created a team to scour Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks for comments related to GM cars and issues. The team contacts the poster, opens a dialogue about the issue referenced in the status update or post and tries to find an answer for car troubles the user is experiencing. This extends to cars and trucks far beyond their warranty expiration, and has already been a pleasant surprise for many GM owners.
Go ahead, Google your company‘s name — do you like the results?
Organizations undergoing redesigns recognize the importance of their online presence, and managing it has become a full-time career for many. What’s the advantage of rooting social media directly into your website, anyway? Shouldn’t it be enough to show up in Google search results?
One advantage is centralizing and confirming all sources of your company’s online presence. This recognition enforces an image of complete transparency. Users need to know if they can trust you. They want to see how you interact with the public. By placing links to Wordpress, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. on your site, you’re showing you’ve got nothing to hide.
Barack Obama raised $500 million from his online campaign, garnering a total of 5 million fans on social media sites. Dell used Twitter to sell $3 million worth of computers with over 600,000 followers. Clearly, these are some extreme examples of hard return on investment.
Social media ROI has been largely overlooked by businesses, as a study by Mzina and Babson Executive Education revealed. Eighty-four percent of professionals worldwide don’t measure the ROI of their social media programs, while 40 percent weren’t even sure if they could track ROI with their social media tools.
Not only are social networks, such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter becoming part of our everyday culture, but now blog posts, pictures and tweets are beginning to seep into our courtrooms. They are even becoming a norm when it comes to evidence in a lawsuit. In general, social networks in general have brought about a whole new way of keeping in touch and expressing ourselves. With the ability to post comments, pictures and status updates, you can virtually get a minute-by-minute play of what your friends are doing at any given moment. But with the ability to share so much information there comes a catch – the information you just posted is now out there in cyberspace for anyone to see.
It takes no more than a quick peek at a list of the most popular and often visited websites to see how social networking sites reign supreme. Facebook, Myspace and YouTube are all within the top five sites most visited, sitting only behind Yahoo and Google in popularity. Sites like Twitter and Blogger are climbing rapidly. With social networking sites receiving such high traffic, it makes sense more than ever to include it in any successful internet business plan.
Media Genesis is currently using social networking sites to increase our client’s visibility, as well as our own, with a lot of varied and successful techniques. We have set up Facebook pages for clients’ companies, and for some unique individual campaigns. This winter, The Salvation Army and MG teamed up with Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock and player Darren McCarty to use their extensive social networks to promote the “Online Red Kettle” program encouraging donations to the Salvation Army. Media Genesis created videos for Babcock, McCarty and several other advocates of The Salvation Army and the videos were then posted on YouTube. By utilizing YouTube’s far reaching sphere of influence, we were able to reach more people than with traditional methods.
YouTube is proving to be an invaluable resource for those wanting to display videos without overhauling their website to allow for it, and with the ability to add information and new content in real time. Facebook and LinkedIn can be utilized to present a fresh face and side to a business or non-profit – even a particular campaign – and reach new people in a fresh and more modern way. Sites like Twitter, which sends out updates – short messages – in real time to subscribers via the web and mobile phones can be used to inform people immediately of news worthy events, promotions, or just fun information that creates a closer bond between client and customer. MG client Belle Tire is currently utilizing Twitter to inform customers of new sales and promotions.
Lastly, more and more companies are building social networking features into their own sites. Customizable profile pages, for example, allow people to have more of a vested interest in visiting a site more often, as well as interact with other users.
The numbers don’t lie – in the last year, social networking sites have continued to climb in popularity. The most popular features for mobile phones are social network related, and in the last year, mobile phone visits to social networking sites has risen almost 500 percent. For organizations trying to reach new people and keep hold of those they currently have, social networking has provided an answer.
To get a better understanding of how to use social media, contact Media Genesis at inquiry@mediaG.com.
Or, friend us on Facebook and Twitter!
Even if you are familiar with the term social networking, do you know what it means and understand everything it entails? Every day you hear about major brands and big name companies succumbing to this new form of advertising. How are they doing it and is it working?
We’re all familiar with the most popular websites for social networking, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and now Twitter. The key to social marketing is to remember that it should be used as a two way communication street. No one wants marketing messages being constantly blasted directly at them. Keep these principles in mind when starting out:
1. Be authentic and human. Feel free to share fun and entertaining info, and even some annoying aspects of your workday. Tell people about your latest big event, or complain about the weather. Anything that opens up a chance for conversation. Just stay away from things that would paint a negative or derogatory image of your brand.
2. Be consistent and choose the right networks. Just like in high school, you didn’t feel the need to be friends with every single clique. Find the ones that make the most sense for your business and your consumers. And remember to keep the same messaging and personality across each network. You shouldn’t be reinventing your marketing approach specifically for online traffic. Stay consistent with the values and principles of your business.
3. Set realistic goals and measure your progress. Don’t make it all about the numbers, but more about making an impact. You want your customers to feel like they have a connection with you, and ideally you want them to include their friends into your clique. That means that you will have to put some time into this venture. Don’t start off hot and heavy and then let your communications dwindle.
If you’re interested in starting a campaign, the best advice we can give is to jump right in. In the beginning it might be a slow process, but the more time you put into it the more it will pay off for you.
