I find
it ironical that an industry like Advertising and Marketing which
loves to segment everything, then segment it again has not done this
with Social Media. Social Media technically covers many communication
platforms and technologies.
For a
Brand to truly have a relevant strategy they need to understand there
really is just two key components for them, and then the platforms
and technologies used are determined by their needs, goals, and
budgets.
Observing
Every
Brand needs to Observe. This has to be mandatory. There is so much
data being generated that is publicly accessible in the Media,
Twitter, Blogs, etc why not use it to your advantage.
1] Set
up Google Alerts for you, your industry, your competitors.
2]
Using various platforms you can collect data from the Twitter
3]
Using high end platforms like Radian 6 or Vocus you can collect from
all online media.
This
enables you to keep up on industry developments, what your
competitors are doing, and what your customers and potential
customers are saying.
REACT
REACT REACT!
Don't
sit on this stuff. You can respond to quality issues, glean
priorities for product improvements or even expanding into new
markets (existing markets you are not in or creating new ones!).
The only issue is you need to be adept at understanding the data and what it means. I hate sentiment. I feel our current tools do a poor job of deciding what is positive, neutral, or negative. But you should be able to see patterns in the data.
Participation
Not
every Brand has to participate via Social Media. Facebook Brand
Pages, Twitter Accounts, Blogs etc are only of value if you commit to
them. You can't just set them up and let them run. You have to go all
in and dedicate resources and time to engaging with your customers
and people interested in your Brand or Products.
Pros:
- You
can talk directly on these platforms with your customers.
- You
can build brand loyalty.
- You
can field simple customer service issues.
- You
have easily reached touch points.
- You
can publicly react when things go wrong quickly.
- You
can have content and information spread on the web.
- I
hate the word Viral. Nothing goes Viral. But even if your Fan and
Follower base help expand your reach and awareness by 1% this way
isn't it worth it?
Cons:
You
are easily reachable and accessible.
This
is a double edged sword especially for Facebook and now G+
Upset
customers can air their dirty laundry they have with you at length
and in public on YOUR page. If Johnny blogs about your poor quality
who will see it? Almost no one. But he comes to your page and then
tells all your fans? Be prepared. Or like the new Fox News G+ page
that got bombed by hundreds of people slamming them at once.
Notice
the Pro's outweigh the Con's here. But the Con is a big one. Many
large companies prefer people call for customer service or email just
so that each person does not have a public platform like they do on a
Facebook or G+ page. If you are a best in class Brand you can handle
the random pissed person. But what if you are chronically
experiencing problems with many upset people? Here is where my peers
will disagree with me. You can spend money on employees to react via
Social Media...or you can spend the money fixing your product or
service quality problem. You be the judge.
