If your organization is on the fence as to whether or not to join the social media revolution, here are five things you should consider.
1. Just because your organization doesn’t maintain an active presence on the Web doesn’t mean people aren’t having discussions about your brand online. The online community tends to be a vocal, opinionated crowd. Like it or not, people are sharing their opinions about your brand and chances are that some of the things they’re saying are negative. Rather than allowing these criticisms to populate, maintaining an active presence on online channels such as blogs and social networking sites gives your organization the platform it needs to set the record straight. The Internet provides an ideal forum to solicit feedback, respond to customer complaints and gain valuable insight. Addressing a customer concern out in the open can actually build loyalty to your brand and demonstrates the type of transparency online users expect.
2. Many consumers expect you to connect with them online. The 2008 Cone Business in Social Media Study found that 60 percent of people in the U.S. use social media and 59 percent of those people interact with organizations via social media. Depending on who your target audiences are, you might be missing out on a key opportunity to communicate with them through channels that they seek to connect with you on.
3. Chances are good that your competitors already maintain a presence on Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms. For example, big-name brands ranging from Starbucks to Kodak maintain some type of presence on Twitter. If your competitors are engaging with consumers online, do you really want to miss out on the opportunity to build brand loyalty among interested Twitter users? Moreover, expect brands to continue to enhance their online presence in the near future. Forrester Research predicts a significant increase for social media marketing.
4. If you know how to have a conversation, you know how to use social media. Social media channels are most effective when users develop an open and active dialogue. Nothing will ever replace the importance of face-to-face communication, but it is possible to build meaningful relationships online. For example, when readers visit a blog and interact with that blogger, they develop a special rapport with that person. In that way, having a representative of your organization maintain a blog can humanize your organization and help those readers to experience a more personal connection with your organization. Quite simply, social media channels should be used as engagement tools.
5. Social media can be deceptively simple. Sure, it’s quick and easy to sign up for a Twitter account or launch a Facebook page. But then what? How do you get people to follow you? How do you transform people with a casual interest in your brand into an engaged online community? Also, there’s a very specific set of rules users of each social media platform expect you to abide by, and once you lose the trust of those users, you’ve blown your chance. That’s why it makes sense to hire a social media consultant or bring on a full-time member to the marketing team to specifically handle all social media activities. Aside from that, here are some simple rules to follow:
- Be open and honest. Transparency is key.
- Connect with other users. Don’t be afraid to reach out and start a conversation.
- Don’t use corporate speak. Pulling info from a press release and publishing it straight to your blog or Facebook page is a big mistake.
- It’s okay to promote your brand and your activities, but make sure you’re providing value to your followers. It shouldn’t be all about you. Think about what might benefit your constituents.
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