Social Media - The Truth and Measure of Success

Social Media or Social Network Marketing is the buzz these days and many businesses feel compelled to jump on the bandwagon. The perception especially is that such media is considered "free media". You start with uploading some content on these sites, the content goes viral, spreading from one person to another, without you ever having to pay users for this action - Is this really the case? Why wouldn't "social media" kill "paid online media" the way the "video killed the radio star" then?
Social media "describes the online mediums that people use to share content, profiles, opinions, insights, experiences, perspectives and media itself, thus facilitating conversations, collaboration and interaction online between groups of people or companies." - SMU, Mitchell Communication Group Australia.  
It is important to know why you think your business needs to have a presence in social networks. The primary reason needs to be about LISTENING to your customers and prospects. Contrary to traditional forms of marketing where the communication is one-way from advertisers to the market, social media is about multiple-way communications. From businesses to prospects and customers, from prospects to customers and vice-versa, businesses have no control and in fact, should not attempt to control how these conversations develop and flow. In retail, in a lot of cases, such conversations are initiated by consumers without the knowledge of the businesses. Consumers are making use of social networks to cut through the sales pitch, to find out the truth about products and services, who else better to help uncover the truth but customers of such products and services. Instead of being intimidated by such possibilities, businesses should embrace this unique feature of such media to listen to what their customers and prospects have to say. Global companies such as Microsoft and Dell have been using social networks to gain consumers' feedback on product releases, post-sale issues and in turn, communicated such feedback to their development and sales teams with the aim to improve on their products and services. The end-result, not only are they delivering products and services on demand by the market, they would have earned goodwill and equity for the brand that could only mean growing customer loyalty and advocacy for the business. 
So how do we measure the effects of social media, here are a few suggestions, look at:
  • Traffic - what is the incremental traffic driven to your website, note the activity you are doing in this space that is driving this consumer behaviour.
  • Interaction and Engagement - an engaged consumer is an invaluable asset to your business, take note of the type of content that is encouraging interaction and engaging their attention.
  • Sales and Leads - while social network users are not often tolerant of selling messages, if consumers in this space are converting to customers and advocates for your business, you know you have striked gold. Just as Dell discovered they have made $1m from Twitter in 18 months, keep listening to the consumers.
  • Search ranking - the principle behind this is, as your content is being circulated in the internet, the more on-going traffic or links your website will receive from other websites, which will result in higher ranking on search engines such as Google for your category or keyword groups. What social media can do to rank your website high in natural or organic search listings cannot be underestimated.
  • PR - Social networking is merging the functions of customer service and marketing. Social media presence for a business is like having a company spokesperson constantly in the public domain, listening and responding to consumers or even to competition. It is crucial to have the support of the PR team to be ever ready to react, initiate and even say sorry.
Some parting words, be clear and know why your business wants to play in this space, resource up and start in baby steps, maybe work on one social network at a time, learn from the first experience before you get into more networks. And when you're getting some attention from your audience, don't ever forget to pause talking, to listen, listen and listen.
Yean Cheong, Internet Marketing Business Coach
Yean has twenty years marketing, hospitality & retail development and senior management experience across multiple industries in Australia and Asia. Having worked on marketing communications for both global and local businesses, she knows what works, and consistently plays a pivotal role in the development of offline and internet marketing strategies for clients. Living in Brisbane Australia, Yean is a member of the Australia Direct Marketing Association (ADMA) Queensland committee, conducts the Digital Marketing course for ADMA in Brisbane, is an active member of the interactive industry and speaks at numerous digital marketing conferences and events in Australia and the region.

driving digital and social strategy 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Corporate Team Building in Dubai

Browsing the options for Team Building activities in Dubai, there are numerous choices on the market from business games to desert safaris. If you want to experience something a little more challenging, however, you might consider a corporate sailing regatta, or simply a team building afternoon, sailing the beautiful waters of the Arabian Gulf. The event can be run as part of a conference/regional meeting as an afternoon activity, or as a full day, with onshore sailing/navigation exercises built in to target particular areas of concern within the team - communication, team work or leadership skills. The venue for this exciting day on the water is the 101 Marina, One & Only, The Palm, in Dubai, and the Emirates Palace Marina, in Abu Dhabi. Yachts vary from Beneteau First 45 racer/cruisers, to an Ocean Voyager 74 sailing catamaran. The event is suitable for non sailors as well as those with experience, as the yachts are skippered by qualified RYA Yachtmaster's who have consi
Read more

Corporate Governance Training: What You Should Know

With the right corporate governance training, companies will know various rules and regulations that apply in the country where they operate. This is especially important when persons in high power are hired by a particular company. These individuals are brought in to make major decisions for the company, and this might not always go as planned. A poor commercial move might see the company lose a lot of money, and that's why a particular system needs to be adhered to at all times. This is what corporate governance is all about. Individuals who manage companies that don't belong to them might not always make the right moves. This is not what the shareholders want, and a set of rules will help in applying the brakes from time to time. The chances of people making faulty decisions are reduced because of this governance system. A company faces a lot of problems when it comes to decision-making. Corporate governance facilitates smooth agency operation. This is easier said than do
Read more

Importance of Corporate Governance For SMEs

There are several definitions for corporate governance. However, the most appropriate definition which is more relevant to small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) describes corporate governance as "a set of rules, regulations and structures which aim to achieve optimum performance by implementing appropriate effective methods in order to achieve the corporate objectives". In other words, corporate governance refers to internal disciplines or systems which govern the relationships among 'key players' or entities that are instrumental in the performance of the organization. Moreover, it supports the organization's sustainability on the long term and establishes responsibility and accountability. The guidelines of corporate governance aim to achieve greater transparency, fairness and hold executive management of the organization accountable to shareholders. In doing so, corporate governance plays a pivotal role in protecting shareholders and, in the meantime, du
Read more