Social Media is Not (Just) a Marketing Channel
As a the number of brands appearing in social media is growing, it seems so is the confusion about how to use it. Can social media bring return on investment? Should it replace a traditional marketing? Which sites are most effective?
The answer is nuanced. Social media can John Tucker Must Die move Heima psp
be a marketing tool, but it is also PR, customer service, focus groups and networking, among other things.
And if brands use the wrong approach at the wrong time, they can make huge missteps – and with all those millions of people watching, it can be disastrous. Router manufacturer Belkin learned this lesson the hard way when they tried to pay a blogger for good product reviews
.
So what is social media?
Advertising
The simplest way for brands to dip their toes into the social media world is to purchase advertising on social media properties. Once a brand does the proper research to learn where their customers are going online, they can participate in any number of social media display ads: blog advertising networks and Facebook or YouTube ads, to name a few.
As a matter of fact, a number of new technologies are emerging that will allow customers to purchase directly from Facebook, blogs and other areas on the web. Clothing retailer Charlotte Russe is using this technology to promote selected products on its Facebook page.
Online advertising in social media is easily tracked and can be measured easily against investment. It’s also the place where brands can participate in social media with minimal effort and familiar tactics.
PR
Brands crave buzz. Word of mouth is the cheapest and most effective way to get customers’ attention. A great way to do that online is to approach influential bloggers the same way PR reps do in the offline world: develop a relationship, send products, and pitch blog ideas to them.
But beware: offering to pay for blog coverage is a no-no, and can severely backfire. Any influential blogger maintains a respectable division between editorial and advertising, meaning they would never blog about your brand for pay. And if they did, nobody would read their blogs any more.
Customer Service The Last Mimzy download
Social media won’t fix all your brand’s problems, but it can provide a great way to find out what’s working and what’s not. To do this, brands must be prepared to not only speak through social media, but listen and act quickly. JetBlue is a great example of customer service on Twitter gone right; the company regularly interacts and listens to customers on its Twitter account
. In fact, they’ve been able to very publicly provide great customer service through Twitter, even quickly providing a wheelchair to a tweeting JetBlue passenger. The halo effect of this one incident has been fantastic PR for the brand.
Focus Groups
Sometimes your customers are the best sources for fresh ideas. Brands can use social media for idea generation and collaboration, too. When Starbucks began experimenting with social media, My Starbucks Idea
Cthulhu movie
Networking Dangerous Worry Dolls ipod
Social media can of course be leveraged for online networking or cultivating productive relationships for business. And just like in the offline world, if you intend to participate in social media networking, It’s helpful to think of it as a big industry party.
If you can approach and maintain relationships with online influencers, online networking can help spread your brand’s message organically. Observe the rules of a party, and you’ll do just fine: be polite and respectful, listen and contribute, don’t “hard sell” and most importantly, be fun and interesting. A networking expert to follow is Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh. Tony’s unpretentious style and willingness to have conversations has earned him a 1.5 million devoted followers of his Twitter feed and a #6 spot in the social media hall of fame
.
A Pulpit
What matters to your company? What is your brand interested in? Social media is a great way to communicate to customers what makes your brand tick, while inviting them into your conversations. Whole Foods uses their blog to talk about what matters to their brand: green action, healthy tips and food news. It’s sincere, useful and interesting.
Beware of the temptation to use social media to simply push out company news. Your customers will quickly see this kind of communication for what it is – shameless self promotion – and tune you out. Providing genuine thought leadership and interesting content will keep your customers coming back to get to know you better.
[...] (this post originally appeared in Active Minds.) [...]
I completely agree. That is pretty much how I see it. Thanks!
much appreciated lots, I have to say your blog is brilliant!
I utterly liked reading about Social Media is Not (Just) a Marketing Channel – Active Minds blog. By Hanson Dodge Creative. and thought it was well worth the read. The only other site I found on Bing also was http://www.kregjigk3mastersystem.info because they seemed very insightful as well.
This is easier and surely gives comfort to internet users. Thanks for sharing. Post like this offers greatbenefit. Thank you!
I absolutelyenjoying every little bit of it Smile.
I feel like I’m constantly looking for interesting things to read about a variety of topics, but I manage to include your blog among my reads every day because you have honest entries that I look forward to. Here’s hoping there’s a lot more great material coming!
This blog is superb! Most of the time when i check out information sites, I operate into terrible advertisements that give me absolutely nothing but this time I ran into your weblog and I’m surprised. You will be offering out some brilliant data. Please keep it up!
I completely agree. That is pretty much how I see it. Thanks!
Lately I’ve been gaining a bit of weight. What would you suggest?
Hi,I find out that your web site is quite beneficial and helpful and we were interested if there is really a possibility of acquiring More writing like this on your site. If you willing to assist us out, we can be willing to compensate you… Best regards, Nicolasa Fortmann
We are always more impressed with online marketing on account of understanding how the the current generation interact with the world through technology. My 13 year old grand daughter just took me a site they had created to aggregate teenage topics for their classmates. They were interested in knowing the way to create online marketing on the site to . We are so proud of them.
It seems like you have pulled together quite the respectable following these days! I’m pleased for you.
For the attention of the Blog author could I use some of the details from this post if credit for the post is given in a link back to your site?
I absolutely enjoy reading your post, your manner of writing is amazing.This article as usual was useful, I have had to bookmark your site and subscribe to your feed in feeburner. Your website looks impressive.
Hey fellas, I just wanted to take this chance to tell you that you really do great work. The completeness of the resources you provide are more than anyone could ask for. Keep it up pals and I know I’ll be a life long frequenter.
This made me smile and hopefully after your last post it will do the same for you:
Friendship is like money, easier made than kept.
It’s hard to find good content online nowadays, but after reading your post I can definately tell that you know what your talking about. Great Work! Lets Keep In Touch… Web TrafficKing
Hi Jim! I’ve been in dentistry for over 20 years. After a day or so remove them and begin your warm salt rinses. The best thing to do is brush them with a denture brush or soft tooth brush inside and out everyday. Be careful not to drop them as they can break. So put a wash cloth in the sink or a towel. Soak them at least 3-4 times a week in a water/denture tablet solution for about 1 hour. This will keep them fresh and from odors and food buildup. Dentures can stain easier than teeth, so when drinking lots of coffee, tea, wine or smoking, make sure you brush them and take good care if. Remember, they are made of plastic, so don’t scrub them like a kitchen floor, this will abrade them and cause marks. Just brush often and carefully and you will always have a nice smile. And use a warm salty rinse 3-4 times a day for the first week of healing and then every other day to keep your gums healthy. Remember to clean and rinse you mouth before putting in the dentures so they fit right and you may need several adjustments until the fit great. If you have any other questions, please ask. ~M
What’s Up! Just wanted to tell you that you built a wonderful little site and I hope you understand how welcoming it looks. Will be back on a regular basis.
I am very satisfied with my social media promotion these days. Social traffic getting even better then the search engine organic traffic. Just embedded ping.fm for automatic social bookmarking and its working awesome!! Got some accounts from this guy http://www.pingfmaccounts.com and he makes for that cheap packages!! Every one should give a try to social media promotions if you running a website and dying to get some good traffic!!