Big business social media plans are developing in a major way, and many of the large social networking websites are now in the sights of the big corporations. However, these companies should be mindful of the actual purpose and function of these websites as they make their social marketing plans. If they are not prepared to engage the customers as equals on these networks and have a genuine back-and-forth exchange with them, then their efforts to use social media will backfire and bring them the sort of publicity they do not want.
As a simple example, let’s say a company’s social media strategy is to set up a Facebook Fan Page, a blog, and a Twitter profile. Facebook allows the company to post updates about services, but is also a place where it posts notices of events and surveys, and asks questions like, “How would you like this kind of product?” or “How should we accomplish this goal?” As people become fans of the company, their own friends are notified, and some follow them there. They engage with the company and each other, and the page becomes a social marketing website with the fans often doing as much promotion as the company.
Business blogging is another way companies can inform their customers about new product developments and get feedback. If the blog has good, informative content, not to mention great photographs or even videos giving demonstrations or telling stories about the products, they’ll keep the customers interested. The company might get a YouTube channel and link videos from there to its blog, or it might have a LibraryThing account and inform customers about the latest valuable books relating to the industry. Social marketing can take advantage of so many of these avenues.
Twitter, of course, is another social marketing tool that really highlights the two-way conversation customers now expect from companies, because communication happens in real time. The company social media liaison can search for people’s tweets asking about certain products, and respond immediately. Or new products or special deals can be announced and responded to within moments. A social media strategy involving Twitter keeps company representatives on their toes. But in fact, all of the new media does this because they keep the business and its lifeblood, its customers, in close contact.
