How to Embrace Social Media to grow your business
In the last few years, social media has changed the online space irreversibly. Arguably, it’s made advertising more honest – and has made advertisers and businesses more accountable in terms of the claims and promises they make.
Most importantly, social media has put control back into the hands of users – giving everyday people the opportunity to get involved, have their say, and provide feedback in an extremely open and honest way.
Here are a few interesting stats worth considering:
- 66% of the world’s web-surfing population visit social networks and blogs.
- ‘Member communities’ have overtaken personal email to become the world’s fourth most popular online sector after search, portals and PC software applications.
- The time spent on social networks and blogging sites is growing at over 3x the rate of overall internet growth.
- In Australia, 57% of people published their opinions online last year.
Source: Nielson – Global Faces and Networked Places – March 2009
Yet – while social media has taken the marketing world by storm, many businesses remain unsure about how they can utilise it in their business – or why they should do so.
As such, here is a quick overview of social media, how it can be used, and a few important reasons about why your business should get involved.
What is social media?
According to Wikipedia, social media is defined as:
“media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media uses Internet and web-based technologies to transform broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many). It supports the democratisation of knowledge and information, transforming people from content consumers into content producers.”
Essentially, social media refers to any media channel in which people are invited to comment, contribute, and have their say. It’s all about inviting and publishing comments from as many people as possible and building up networks of captive contacts. When most people think of social media, they think of popular websites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or YouTube. However, it can actually take many different forms – including internet forums, blogs, wikis, podcasts, video postings, bookmarking or ratings. Social media can take place via third party websites, or via tools that are embedded into your own website (such as a discussion panel or blog).
Why should your business get involved?
1. It’s free
Social media tools allow you to promote your business, as often as you like, without sacrificing anything except your time. You can set up a Facebook page, LinkedIn account, YouTube channel or Twitter profile without paying a cent. You can then use these channels to post information about your business, or your products and services, whenever you like, in an engaging and rapid manner.
US book company Amazon, for instance, uses Twitter to cost effectively promote up and coming offers to their 35,811 followers. They then include links to their website. If users like the offers, they will re-tweet these offers to their own contacts – meaning rapid and highly cost effective word-of-mouth advertising.
2. It’s real
Social media encourages honesty and transparency, which resonates well with customers. By embracing social media, you’re indicating that your brand has nothing to hide. Instead, you are communicating the fact that you are open, honest, and can be trusted. You can also engage in real-life discussions with consumers in a more public forum. For instance, if a customer submits a query via Twitter, you can respond openly.
In turn, the transparency of social media encourages honest feedback from users. Take a look at this Facebook page recently created by Raffaello.
Users are encouraged to submit their own “little white truths” for the chance to win free boxes of Raffaello. So far, the site has attracted over 3,000 fans – several of whom regularly enter their humorous truths in quite an open forum.
3. It’s a two-way dialogue
For years, marketers have dreamed of having a two-way dialogue with their customers – wanting to know where they are, what drives them, and what they think. This is where expensive surveying and customer research groups have always played a big role. However, with social media, your business can find out what your customers are thinking and what they want, on the spot.
4. Social audiences are there because they want to be
When someone joins your fan page or follows you on Twitter, it’s because they have a genuine interest in your brand. This means that you can easily market to a very captive and responsive audience.
Consider, for instance, this Facebook page which was set up by Pizza Hut in Australia:
Through word of mouth and occasional product giveaways and special offers, this page now has over one million “fans”. Pizza Hut can directly market to their fans – simply by posting comments on this page. Users can also then comment or rate the promotions.
A recent post advertising $10 pizza Days, for instance, attracted 162 comments from users and was rated by a staggering 853 people. Not bad for a free advertising channel!
5. It can be fun
Most importantly, engaging in social media provides your business with a fresh, fun new way to advertise. In mid-2009, for instance, Levis embarked on a clever campaign to position their new range of jeans.
They set up a Twitter identity – @iSpyLevis – and created a real-life “treasure hunt” type competition – in which people could win pairs of jeans by following clues on Twitter and hunting down a @iSpyLevis character in various cities across Australia. The promotion gained rapid momentum, and @iSpyLevis secured over 2,000 followers.
Social media gives your business a chance to communicate freely, openly and quickly. You can reach your customers on new levels – and understand more intimately who they are, and what they’re looking for.
Importantly, social media is not just about Facebook and Twitter. There are hundreds of social tools and platforms which can be utilised, depending on your needs and what you want to achieve.
How can you get started?
If you’re interested in using social media tools to promote your business, give the team at Big Click Studios a call. We’d be more than happy to help.
