(Trinidad Guardian) The phenomenal rise of social media platforms is altering the way organisations engage the public. By more intimately connecting companies to customers, social media provides organisations with powerful new means of getting their messages out. But how do organisations tap into the power of social media in the face of executive pushback and potentially unknown returns on investment (ROI)?
The answer is deceptively simple: have a clear social media plan.
It’s not sufficient to go “social” simply because it’s the in-thing. The key is to accept that communicating and marketing social media is just that: marketing and communications. The same basic principles that govern corporate communications and marketing can be applied to the new social media channels.
The new digital platforms are simply new interfaces for engaging customers, building brand awareness, and promoting products and services. Social media platforms also can also be used to gain invaluable insight into shifting market preferences and trends.
The Harvard Business Review Analytics Services recently conducted a survey of 2,100 organisations and discovered that 79 per cent are currently using social media channels. They also asked them what they saw as the benefits of social media and here are the results and feedback from the real world.
1) Increased awareness of the organisation
2) Increased traffic to Web site
3) Greater favourable perceptions of the brand
4) Able to monitor conversations about the organisation
5) Able to develop targeted marketing activities
6) Better understanding of customers perceptions of their brand
7) Improved insights about their target markets
8) Identification of positive and negative comments
9) Increase in new business
10) Identification of new product or service opportunities
11) Ability to measure the frequency of the discussion about the brand
12) Early warning of potential product or service issues
According to Jon Phillips, a Washington DC-based new media expert, “Social media is still very much in transition. Companies are still figuring out how to connect social media investment into quantifiable business returns.”
This is one reason why organisations and marketers struggle when it comes to understanding and measuring social media ROI. Lack of knowledge of the rules and requirements of the dynamic social media landscape is another reason that many initiatives end in failure or disappointment.
Phillips likens corporate social media efforts to New Year’s resolutions, “The majority of organisations have great intentions, but the efforts at adoption social media ultimately fail because there is insufficient investment and commitment.”
Rhea Yaw Ching, vice-president, sales and marketing at Columbus, agrees, “When there are no well-defined objectives, implementation can and often will lead to wasted resources and disappointing results.
“Companies should take the time to understand the shifting behaviour of consumers in online channels and match that to their revenue and retention objectives.”
Understanding this who, what, where, when and why of social media engagement makes it easier (and more rewarding) to take the plunge.
Creating a presence on the popular networks is a technically trivial affair. Any business can join and create a profile. Making that presence count is where the investment must be focused. Just as visibility has value in the real world, your social media presence can be given value in the virtual world.
