Social Media and Business

My blog has primarily been about writing about events and happenings in my life. However, today I will be tackling the subject of why social media is beneficial for businesses. I am motivated to write this due to a social media certification that I am working towards with the Social Media Academy.

Why am I qualified to write on such a topic? I have been working as a social media project manager for nearly two years at a communications agency. Attending conferences as well as my client experience has given me some insights into the world of how businesses can you social media in beneficial ways. I read a number of blog posts and articles every week and do my best to keep up on current social media news and trends. Previously, I wrote my masters thesis on the subject of viral marketing which required extensive research on the subject allowing me to gain knowledge. Furthermore, I have been a first-mover on many social platforms and am an avid user of social media.

So, with all that said, this post will contain opinions based on my experience. There are plenty of cases that are out there that can back up my points and most likely others that will shine light on flaws in my arguments. Basically, if you don't like it, then find someone else who says what you think!

Onward!

So why is social media beneficial for businesses....?

Social media is built up with real time communication channels that consumers are engaging in, for the most part, on a daily basis. Whether it is for friendly interactions, to get news, personal branding or business networking, finding information, etc... there are billions of conversations happening everyday. What brands/companies need to realize, is that a percentage of these conversations are about them.

Social media not only gives brands/companies the ability to listen in to what consumers are saying, but it allows them to fully participate in the conversation. Brands/companies are able to, in real time, hear their consumers and respond to them. They can create discussions, get insight into the wants and needs of their consumers, learn about potential new markets as well as find new consumers.

Hearing the voice of the consumer is important in todays digital and global environment. A bad consumer experience use to be contained to the network of the consumer who had the bad experience. This used to mostly be family and friends and perhaps colleagues or classmates. Think about how many people you were connected to before the internet revolutionized your network and reach. Nowadays, all it takes is 1 angry person posting to your brand page on Facebook about your terrible customer service and you have nearly 40,000 post likes and 5000+ comments about how terrible your phone service is. It takes one YouTube video about you breaking a guitar to reach 12+ million people and make national headlines and being discussed in marketing classes around the world for years to come. The point is that the average person has more connections and more opportunity to broadcast their opinions and experiences further and faster than ever before.

Social Media gives brands/companies the ability to do right by their consumers. You can turn a bad experience into a positive one. Of course there are some cases that are just hard to avoid all together, but the damage can be far less if you are part of the conversation. I read a study that altimeter group did and they recognize around 50 social media crisis' since 2001. More than half of them could have completely been avoided. Brands/companies do themselves a disservice by not paying attention.

Of course it isnt all about listening for negative things. Social media allows brands to build stronger ties to their consumers. It enables them to reward consumers for loyalty. It provides them with a space to foster those positive experiences and encourage fans to spread positive sentiments and increase brand awareness.

Brands/companies however need to be willing to be bold and fully engage. In my experiences, many brands/companies are still not sure why they are participating in social media. Their thinking is a lot like when websites first became popular. Everyone has one, so we should to. The challenge is convincing them that they have a real opportunity to learn from their fans and see the ever important ROI.

More often than not, I see that there are good business opportunities that come from consumer feedback that are passed by because brands/companies do not listen to what their consumers are saying. I often think that it is almost as if consumers really dont know what they want until the brand/company tells them.

Of course not everyone can be Coca-Cola, Virgin or Red Bull, but if you want to be in their league, then you have to be willing to put in the effort and listen and engage with your consumers and provide them the value to keep them coming back for me.