Social Media
Taking matters into your own hands

There aren't many people anymore that go "huh?" when you are talking about social media. But there will be several out there that are not yet engaged. We can help you enter the world of social media and get you up close and personal with your customers.

Social media is a bridge that gives surfers around the globe access to people, stories, and companies that at one time they did not have access to. It tears down walls and allows you to see and participate "behind the curtain".

It is important for you as a company to be aware of this trend, which is becoming – more and more so – a required means of communication between your company and your customers.

Research and experience show that a lot of customers are finding their way through the various social media channels seeking for information about your products. You can use social media to share information with your customers, to influence their buying behavior, but also and very important, to monitor what they are saying about your brand, products or services.

The Harvard Business Review Analytics Services recently conducted a survey of 2,100 organizations and discovered that 79% 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.

Why should you, as the CEO of your company, think about Social Media?

1. Increased awareness of the organization
2. Increased traffic to website
3. Greater favorable perceptions of the brand
4. Able to monitor conversations about the organization
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

Good news often comes with some downsides. As is the case for Social Media. Paul Gillin, the author of "The New Influencers", describes this downside rather well:

"Conventional marketing wisdom long held that a dissatisfied customer tells ten people. But…in the new age of social media, he or she has the tools to tell ten million."

The challenge is to not let the fear of this unknown overwhelm the benefits that the social media revolution can provide to an organization.

You will have to invest a fair amount of time into monitoring conversations on the web. Otherwise, you won’t know who is talking about your brand, products, services, etc. And you will also need to keep your "followers" informed by sharing the latest news on your endeavors.