By Isaac Anyaogu
Like a bull in a china shop, social media has run inside and nothing will remain the same again. Ever.
When the Arab spring was let loose in 2010, many called it the “Twitter Revolutions” largely because social media destroyed the myth that organized action requires hierarchy even a dominant influence, at least civil rights movements in the US had Dr King as the rallying point but social media has created a model of self-organising and self-directing chaos.
Even in the structured arena of business with cold, often unwieldy corporate systems and structures, social media is changing the rules. A McKinsey study published in July 2015 found out that companies are increasingly turning to social media to create buzz around their products. They learnt that tweets and recommendations are having a serious impact on sales and consumer buying decisions.
Even in nonprofits, the rave has caught on. A Stanford Social Innovation Review article observed that until recently the models that nonprofits used to find, engage, and cultivate donors, volunteers and other supporters were reasonably straightforward. The first step was to use direct mail, phone calls, or other techniques to bring in large numbers of potential supporters at low levels of engagement.
These supporters were sorted into neat groups, and the most promising people were continually moved up the pyramid or ladder and cultivated for larger and larger donations. It was an orderly, linear process. The internet and social media changed all that. Online competitions, viral video campaigns and mobile giving have created new rules. In one non-profit, staff spent all day on Facebook and raised the highest donations ever that day.
Sociologists are conducting research and coming up with data that reveal that that we spend far more time interacting with people in a virtual environment than physically. Does this have any meaning for brands and the way they engage with their markets? Facebook has no content of its own even though it holds one of the world’s largest content with 50 Billion photos alone. Amazon is the world’s largest mall but has no real inventory. Definitely, new rules have to be applied.
The benefits of social media for your business are as many as the potential for havoc. Social media helps businesses target audiences more effectively, find new customers, interact and engage their audience and receive prompt feedback. Companies have also used social media to improve market intelligence and get ahead of competitors, share content, generate leads, increase brand awareness and SEO rankings for their websites.
For most people, the major attraction of social media is the shared common interests and communal feeling. Users of LinkedIn feel they are part of an elite professional class and proudly display their resumes and qualifications. Google Plus has a sophisticated audience, Instagram oozes swag and some sections of the Twitterati are the online equivalent of a gang of motor park touts.
All these will indicate that brands now have to evolve innovative ways to tame the raging bull that is social media. Starbucks uses its social media presence to preserve a sense of creative exuberance. It’s Pinterest and Instagram accounts features boards ranging from customer submitted photos, DIY suggestions and fans pictures of coffee taken in cool atmosphere. Goldman Sachs uses Google Plus, Twitter, Youtube and LinkedIn and post updates that feature employee profiles, company news and financial advice. GT Bank maintains active presence on social media and engages professionals to create content for their Youtube videos.
Many companies have created their social media strategies around goals such as creating awareness, generating leads and resolving customer/client complaints and making sales. Some strategies include keeping marketing campaign in the office for big ticket events and streamlining the approval process in order to take advantage of opportunities as they arise and to respond rapidly.
Some have decided to be intentionally funny, creating an atmosphere of fun around their business. Others have chosen to get buddy buddy with the audience, even making friends with fans. Brands that have recorded success in the use of social media have one thing in common: they did something different, it may be a new thing or a new way of doing something that has been around for a long time.
While humans keep evolving in the use of social media for interaction brands still struggle to adapt it into their business in a way that will seem less interruptive and still maintain their corporate identity and value system. Most brands are not yet clued in about how to adapt to this disruption much less profit from it.
In recent times, brands have seen the benefits of hiring social media managers whose duties include providing content and engaging audiences. What remains to be done in most cases is to develop a comprehensive social media strategy that draws breath from the company’s mission and vision and have a manager with the right orientation to drive the process.
This will require that your social media manager should not only know the most suitable social media platforms that will suit your business but must be adept at engaging the audience, responding to negative reactions and unprovoked cyber assault by internet trolls with too much time and data on their hands. Brands like JP Morgan, McDonalds and even Burger King have been on the backend of a campaign that backfires and the public bashtags that follows when a Twitter mob comes for you.
A social media strategy is incomplete without the tools to measure the success of the campaign. Specialized softwares and apps have been developed for this purpose including Google Analytics, Tweetdeck etc. Some brands have chosen to outsource the management of their social media platforms to astute managers while others have in-house staff hired for the purpose. The needs and peculiar circumstance of the organisation would inform their strategy. What is key however is that a successful social media strategy is the one that converts likes into interests, promotes brand awareness and recognition and boost sales.
Isaac Anyaogu manages social media platforms for corporate organisations and blogs at isaacanyaogu.blogspot.com
Like a bull in a china shop, social media has run inside and nothing will remain the same again. Ever.
When the Arab spring was let loose in 2010, many called it the “Twitter Revolutions” largely because social media destroyed the myth that organized action requires hierarchy even a dominant influence, at least civil rights movements in the US had Dr King as the rallying point but social media has created a model of self-organising and self-directing chaos.
Even in the structured arena of business with cold, often unwieldy corporate systems and structures, social media is changing the rules. A McKinsey study published in July 2015 found out that companies are increasingly turning to social media to create buzz around their products. They learnt that tweets and recommendations are having a serious impact on sales and consumer buying decisions.
Even in nonprofits, the rave has caught on. A Stanford Social Innovation Review article observed that until recently the models that nonprofits used to find, engage, and cultivate donors, volunteers and other supporters were reasonably straightforward. The first step was to use direct mail, phone calls, or other techniques to bring in large numbers of potential supporters at low levels of engagement.
These supporters were sorted into neat groups, and the most promising people were continually moved up the pyramid or ladder and cultivated for larger and larger donations. It was an orderly, linear process. The internet and social media changed all that. Online competitions, viral video campaigns and mobile giving have created new rules. In one non-profit, staff spent all day on Facebook and raised the highest donations ever that day.
Sociologists are conducting research and coming up with data that reveal that that we spend far more time interacting with people in a virtual environment than physically. Does this have any meaning for brands and the way they engage with their markets? Facebook has no content of its own even though it holds one of the world’s largest content with 50 Billion photos alone. Amazon is the world’s largest mall but has no real inventory. Definitely, new rules have to be applied.
The benefits of social media for your business are as many as the potential for havoc. Social media helps businesses target audiences more effectively, find new customers, interact and engage their audience and receive prompt feedback. Companies have also used social media to improve market intelligence and get ahead of competitors, share content, generate leads, increase brand awareness and SEO rankings for their websites.
For most people, the major attraction of social media is the shared common interests and communal feeling. Users of LinkedIn feel they are part of an elite professional class and proudly display their resumes and qualifications. Google Plus has a sophisticated audience, Instagram oozes swag and some sections of the Twitterati are the online equivalent of a gang of motor park touts.
All these will indicate that brands now have to evolve innovative ways to tame the raging bull that is social media. Starbucks uses its social media presence to preserve a sense of creative exuberance. It’s Pinterest and Instagram accounts features boards ranging from customer submitted photos, DIY suggestions and fans pictures of coffee taken in cool atmosphere. Goldman Sachs uses Google Plus, Twitter, Youtube and LinkedIn and post updates that feature employee profiles, company news and financial advice. GT Bank maintains active presence on social media and engages professionals to create content for their Youtube videos.
Many companies have created their social media strategies around goals such as creating awareness, generating leads and resolving customer/client complaints and making sales. Some strategies include keeping marketing campaign in the office for big ticket events and streamlining the approval process in order to take advantage of opportunities as they arise and to respond rapidly.
Some have decided to be intentionally funny, creating an atmosphere of fun around their business. Others have chosen to get buddy buddy with the audience, even making friends with fans. Brands that have recorded success in the use of social media have one thing in common: they did something different, it may be a new thing or a new way of doing something that has been around for a long time.
While humans keep evolving in the use of social media for interaction brands still struggle to adapt it into their business in a way that will seem less interruptive and still maintain their corporate identity and value system. Most brands are not yet clued in about how to adapt to this disruption much less profit from it.
In recent times, brands have seen the benefits of hiring social media managers whose duties include providing content and engaging audiences. What remains to be done in most cases is to develop a comprehensive social media strategy that draws breath from the company’s mission and vision and have a manager with the right orientation to drive the process.
This will require that your social media manager should not only know the most suitable social media platforms that will suit your business but must be adept at engaging the audience, responding to negative reactions and unprovoked cyber assault by internet trolls with too much time and data on their hands. Brands like JP Morgan, McDonalds and even Burger King have been on the backend of a campaign that backfires and the public bashtags that follows when a Twitter mob comes for you.
A social media strategy is incomplete without the tools to measure the success of the campaign. Specialized softwares and apps have been developed for this purpose including Google Analytics, Tweetdeck etc. Some brands have chosen to outsource the management of their social media platforms to astute managers while others have in-house staff hired for the purpose. The needs and peculiar circumstance of the organisation would inform their strategy. What is key however is that a successful social media strategy is the one that converts likes into interests, promotes brand awareness and recognition and boost sales.
Isaac Anyaogu manages social media platforms for corporate organisations and blogs at isaacanyaogu.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment