Don’t Fear Social Media!

I recently read a research report from Gartner’s Kimberly Collins that examined “Five Ways Social Media Will Revolutionize Marketing.¹” It caused me to reflect on how social media has quickly matured into a robust and pervasive technology that has fundamentally changed the way people and brands communicate.

But as relatively mature and robust as social media has become, we still see brands struggling to develop strategies and best practices that take advantage of the power that social media introduces.

In Gartner’s analysis, the firm estimates that “through 2015, 75% of marketing organizations will view social media as simply another channel annoying customers and failing to deliver significant value to the CMO’s strategy.”

This stat says to me that a majority of brands do not fully understand the marketing and communications potential that social media presents to them, and that these brands need to learn how to better use this new found power – for good, not annoyance.

I want to give the brands that are wrestling with the question “What do we do with it?” some words of social marketing advice:

• Use social media channels to talk AND listen with your customers. This is an opportunity to develop a conversation directly with them. Learn what they are thinking and saying and use this information to have appealing and thoughtful conversations.

• Respect your customers. Once you find them in the social universe, don’t try to oversell to them or violate their personal space – give them the opportunity to opt-in to the discussion on their own terms. If they aren’t interested in your campaigns or offers, respect that and avoid losing that customer.

• Use social media channels to understand what is appealing to your customers. Social media can give you a cost-effective way of holding a virtual focus group. Use social media channels to test messages and campaigns with your followers before your campaigns go out across other, more expensive channels. Save yourself some time and money!
• Use social media channels to develop a following. Feed those followers relevant content, news, and offers based on established preferences and behavior and they will be continue to be loyal to your brand. Use this to develop a bond with your brand.

Understanding the power of social media and developing a virtual dialog with your customers is not an easy task that can be done overnight— but one that could be very worthwhile in the long term. I encourage you to use these tips to lay a solid foundation for your social marketing strategy and eventually “deliver significant value to the CMO’s strategy.”

Does social media scare your brand? What’s preventing your brand from adopting a social marketing strategy?

¹ Kimberly Collins, Gartner, Inc., “Five Ways Social Media Will Revolutionize Marketing”; ID Number: G00214985; August 15, 2011