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Monday, October 05, 2009
Creating a social media campaign
You have looked at the data (or read my last post) and you know you need to be out there, using social media to improve your e-image and to interact with your potential customers or investors.
The question is:
"What should you be doing?"
The answer is not simple. There are many things you can do with social media but the trick is choosing what makes the most sense for you and your start-up company. Some of the options are:
Before you adopt social media in your business it is important that you understand how these sites can work in your specific situation. You need to find out how social media is being used in your industry and among business partners and competitors (if no one in your industry is using social media yet then look at related industries).
Start Small
Once you have a feeling for how other people are using social media create a social media profile on the sites that are popular in your industry and/or in related industries. Once you create your profile it is generally wisest to begin contributing in small ways. For example, instead of creating your own blog, begin by commenting on posts and answering questions on existing blogs that are popular in your industry.
Avoid establishing your own blog, wiki, forum or social network site until you feel you understand the expectations the community has for such a site and you have the time to monitor and update the site on a regular basis.
Remember, social media is about contributing to and conversing with a community and that require a commitment. If you regularly contribution to online conversations you can develop establish an online audience over time. If you do not dedicate time to your online presence your e-image can suffer and ultimately cost customers. Nothing looks worse than a corporate blog, wiki or forum that has not been updated recently. I have seen sites that have a blog that has not been updated in years. This looks much worse than not having a blog at all (If you start a blog, wiki or forum and find you do not have time to maintain it - take it down).
Listen Actively
Even if you are not ready to actively create a blog or a wiki you still need to search for your company/product name on social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook to see what people are saying about you. You will need to be prepared to respond to comments you receive online.
When responding to comments about your company or product, keep your message positive and let them know you value their input and will use it to improve. Always provide full-disclosure that you are the one representing the brand. Ask people what they think about your product. Remember, when operating in a social media environment you are there to listen and engage, not sell.
Long term Benefits
Social marketing and networking can provide a number of benefits to your company - if you have the time to invest in the social media process. It can:
The question is:
"What should you be doing?"
The answer is not simple. There are many things you can do with social media but the trick is choosing what makes the most sense for you and your start-up company. Some of the options are:
- Blogs are ideal if you are in a complex environment and you have lots of information and ideas you can share with your customers.
- Wikis are a good choice for publishing user guides, best practices or other documents where your customers can contribute to.
- Forums are useful for complex product or service domains where users have lots of questions and having a knowledge base of questions and answers to those questions is useful.
- Social networking Web sites (e.g. LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook and Twitter) are useful for connecting directly with your customers and creating a dialog with them about the things they like and don't like about your products or services. They are also very useful for launching specials and promotions.
Before you adopt social media in your business it is important that you understand how these sites can work in your specific situation. You need to find out how social media is being used in your industry and among business partners and competitors (if no one in your industry is using social media yet then look at related industries).
Start Small
Once you have a feeling for how other people are using social media create a social media profile on the sites that are popular in your industry and/or in related industries. Once you create your profile it is generally wisest to begin contributing in small ways. For example, instead of creating your own blog, begin by commenting on posts and answering questions on existing blogs that are popular in your industry.
Avoid establishing your own blog, wiki, forum or social network site until you feel you understand the expectations the community has for such a site and you have the time to monitor and update the site on a regular basis.
Remember, social media is about contributing to and conversing with a community and that require a commitment. If you regularly contribution to online conversations you can develop establish an online audience over time. If you do not dedicate time to your online presence your e-image can suffer and ultimately cost customers. Nothing looks worse than a corporate blog, wiki or forum that has not been updated recently. I have seen sites that have a blog that has not been updated in years. This looks much worse than not having a blog at all (If you start a blog, wiki or forum and find you do not have time to maintain it - take it down).
Listen Actively
Even if you are not ready to actively create a blog or a wiki you still need to search for your company/product name on social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook to see what people are saying about you. You will need to be prepared to respond to comments you receive online.
When responding to comments about your company or product, keep your message positive and let them know you value their input and will use it to improve. Always provide full-disclosure that you are the one representing the brand. Ask people what they think about your product. Remember, when operating in a social media environment you are there to listen and engage, not sell.
Long term Benefits
Social marketing and networking can provide a number of benefits to your company - if you have the time to invest in the social media process. It can:
- increase customer loyalty
- enhance branding awareness.
- allow you to gather instant feedback on your products
- improve sales of new products
- provide evangelists that sell your products to others without even being asked.
Labels: online marketing, social media
