I and fellow Iona Group developer, Mark Tovey, had the chance to present a basics of social media for the Morton, IL Economic Development Council’s LEAP (Local Education, Affordable Price) session.
Social networking on the web is just an extension of social networking in person. You are connecting with other people for a variety of purposes: business, social, common interest. As the internet came along we adapted these same ideas to the tools of the time. Chat rooms and email became the tools of socializing. As the web became more of a marketplace of ideas it became more social. Specific tools to socialize became available adding yet another avenue to network with others.
Because social media is so prevalent it is a hot place to be in terms of a business. Advertising dollars are continuing to be thrown at the web and at social media and there is growing marketplace on the internet and especially within social media outlets. Why? This is where the people are gathering and talking, why not talk about you?
One of the tools of social media is Twitter. Twitter is a micro-blogging platform limiting posts (tweets) to 140 characters. This character limitation has its roots in cell phone communication but Twitter has grown since it’s cell platform start. Twitter is a give and take, where you can follow people and have them follow you. Signing up for Twitter is fairly straight forward. Click on the sign up link, enter your information and start tweeting. If you are a business these micro messages would reflect the message you are trying to deliver about your company. Are you representing an individual at your company or are you the official marketing voice of your company? The answer to this may determine the content of the tweet. Twitter is also good for following others and keeping an ear to the ground about your business’s buzz. Are customers talking up your service or criticizing you for an area they found lacking. Responding to good or bad can more than make up for the original offense. Being able to head off some bad word of mouth can turn a negative advertisement into a good one. How do you find these people to listen to? Search is a great option to find people in your area, industry or people who are talking about you. There are some directories that may also be helpful (wefollow.com) or just using the basic search or “find people” functionality on Twitter may be enough to get started. You may also find that by putting out quality information people may start to find you, and if they are not spammers or bots you may very well want to follow them back. If they are interested in your business you are interested in them.
Another tool to connect is Facebook. Facebook was started on the Harvard campus by Mark Zuckerburg and quickly took root on other college campuses and then around the world. Facebook now has 300 million active users and 50% of those users log on any given day. How does a business take advantage of the networks built on Facebook? Usually through a Fan Page. A fan page is a brand or business landing page on Facebook. The sign up process is similar to Twitter. If you want to build a fan page you can use an existing personal Facebook account or create one fresh. In either case you use the create a page link on the Facebook’s home page. From here you can indicate you type of business and the name of the fan page. When you are logged in you need to add some details to the profile and an profile picture to gain a bit more footing as people search and gain information about your business. Add as much information to the profile as possible to enhance the value of your page. Status updates are similar to Twitter’s tweets.
So why do people share information on the social networks? As with anybody we do things for ourselves. We are promoting a self image, whether it be humorous, helpful, emotional, friendly or any number of different characteristics. So sharing something that triggers on emotions is key to encouraging social marketing. A funny video will get shared around as people want to make others laugh.
This advertisement for Dove may get shared as people want to encourage a healthy self image:
The strength of the emotion and impact of the message increases the sharing potential. These are videos but text or still images can be just as viral. Oprah has been a catalyst for coupon sharing with a KFC grilled chicken promotion and more recently a 50% off Payless shoe coupon that was good for two days only. This type of information relies on getting shared through social tools. People also get a great feeling of helping their fellow man by sharing this information around.
Individuals like to help people by sharing information and that is good for business too. Participating in the community shows that you are a valuable resource and full of expertise. Offering tips or how-to’s is the equivalent to a physical coupon in that you are giving some information away for free in the hopes of gaining a paying customer. Listen to your community and share back. Dell has done this in an ironic way by offering advice about social media to small businesses on Facebook. They took their own advice.
LinkedIn is another social tool more designed for professionals within business rather than businesses themselves. This may be a good way to gain credibility with people within your field. There is a similar simple sign up process and a free or subscription level of service.
To utilize these networks to their fullest you will want to connect them. Use your business website to advertise your membership in each of these platforms. Know that to get the most out of social media networking you need to put time in. Leaving a Twitter account dormant could be just as damaging as not having one at all. This may indicate to customers that you are not listening or contributing anything to the community. So communicate with sincerity and with the intention of advancing your business’s place in the community. This is a legitimate marketing venture.
And if you wondering the results of your labor there are a few ways to track statistics. Facebook fan pages and Youtube videos have built-in numbers associated with their content. If you want a bit more granularity you could share links you may have via a url shortener like bit.ly. Many of these services will offer statistics on individual links, such as how many clicks and where the clicks are coming from (both platform and geographic location). And if you are looking for more feed back on whether social media is working, look to the quality of conversation being conducted between you and your customer.
