Social Media Marketing

Corporate Successes and Misconceptions

However, with the proliferation of social networks like MySpace and Facebook, it seems that social media marketing would be a natural progression for most companies. However, with the abundance of social media tools available, the lack of “standardized” metrics, and the misinformed beliefs about social media, many companies are skeptical to move into new territory. Others, such as eBay and BestBuy, have embraced social media and seen a profitable return.

When eBay launched communities for their buyers and sellers to share tips and tricks, they found that those eBay members who actively participated in those communities bought more, sold more, paid higher prices and returned 50% more revenue to eBay than those who did not participate.

When BestBuy tried to develop communities to get feedback from their 160,000 employees as to how well in-store marketing programs and advertising campaigns were doing, they found unexpected benefits like an increase of 30% in 401K sign-on, better knowledge sharing and problem solving between store employees and a new channel for business innovation.

With increasingly busy lives, people are looking for more accessible and customizable means of getting information. They want information in short bursts in an easy to use/read/apply format. To meet their demands, companies should not try to pull an audience to them, but instead go to the audience. There are several potential downfalls that companies need to be aware of…just google “social media mistakes” or “social media misconceptions”. The sheer number of “mistakes” and “misconceptions” demonstrates the need for research and planning in social media campaigns.

1. The customers will do the work for us. If a company focuses too much on tools and metrics, the audience will notice. Social media is customer-focused and often customer-driven. Before releasing a social media program, the site should be pre-populated with valuable content and knowledgeable, trained internal users, and a clear plan for what the audience needs/wants to know.
2. Build your own platform. With the number of social media sites increasing everyday, there is no reason to create your own platform. Users do not need or want to jump from one niche site to another to obtain information; they want everything condensed, accessible and centrally located. By using popular technologies, you increase the number of potential users and eliminate the need to learn a new platform.
3. Say the wrong thing. Everything you say on social media is public. Even when deleted, that mistake will not go away. Reaction and distribution are immediate in social media, and what seems to be a small error in judgment can become front page news in a matter of minutes (literally). Through properly training and selecting key representatives, a company can limit the potential for judgment errors and prevent bad publicity.
4. Social media echoes. Unlike mediums that can easily be deleted/discarded and forgotten, social media is constantly spreading. A post on Twitter may be read on another person’s blog or in an RSS feed for a national news outlet. A company who deletes negative comments can rest assured that the comment will be reposted on another site along with a reference to the company’s policies on ignoring/deleting negative commentary. In the online world, nothing is truly erasable. Once your words are out in the social medium, you need to own them and be accountable for the repercussions.
5. Don’t be a promotional pusher. Companies that push their products onto the audience or those that don’t engage in a transparent manner will not succeed in social media. Audiences are not looking for more advertisements. They’re looking to voice their concerns as well as their praises. They’re looking for filtered information and a real person to answer their questions. Promotional pitches are frowned upon in social media. The consumer wants to hear stories about the company, its people, its successes and its philosophies. Product advertising should be saved for traditional marketing campaigns.