All posts tagged Social media

Adding Value To Business Processes Through Social Media

In order to comprehend the fundamental concept of social media think of traditional mainstream media turned upside-down. With “top-down” delivery of content through traditional channels such as TV, radio, papers, magazines, media companies and advertisers are telling you what to consume, when and how to do it but at a fixed time and location. On the other hand, social media delivers content from the “ground up,” which is why it’s often referred to as a “grassroots” media. Said another way social media is all about content on demand – sometimes even in real-time, and always available to download and be watched, listened to when and where we feel like doing it.

Social MediaIn terms of Return on Investment (ROI), Social Media brings value to the following business processes:

  • Human Resources – social media boosts a company’s brand online, therefore attracting more job candidates, and if social media use by employees is encouraged (such as corporate blogging, running company Facebook group), and staff is happier and tend to stay longer. Bottom line is reduced employee turnover; lower hiring and training costs; lower costs for job advertising.
  • Customer Service – Social media means open lines of communication between consumer and company, so customer problems and needs can be addressed in a real-time, transparent environment. The result is accountability and trust by consumers and less customer churn, lower customer acquisition costs; higher customer conversion rates.
  • PR and Media Relations – Social media is used more and more by mainstream journalists, as well as journalists and bloggers, for spreading the news and views of a company with easy dissemination of photos, videos, and links. A higher profile means more business leads, more sales per customer and for corporate communications and shareholder relations, social media allows a company to keep close tabs on what the public at large, as well as investors, competitors and consumer groups are saying about it which leads to enhanced share value; online reputation management; crisis aversion management.

In every one of these scenarios, increased revenue is the end-point of a strategic social media program’s development and careful implementation. If you have any questions with regard to using social media to add value to your business processes or if you would like more information on social media marketing please contact us

Social Media Basics For Success

Regardless of whether you are a business or an individual, you probably come across many complex challenges associated with social media. These can sometimes be overwhelming and the temptation is to ignore them however if you do decide to tackle them where do you begin? Rather than becoming paralyzed, understand that there are four simple, yet critical steps to social media:

  1. Listen: Listen to your customer and conversations around your brand.social media for success
  2. Interact: Join the conversation.
  3. React: Adjust your product or service based on feedback.
  4. Sell: If you listen, interact, and react this will happen with less effort.

Companies often enter the social media fray and jump straight to step four – selling. This is the worst thing you can do, and it won’t be effective. You must start with listening since without listening, you won’t achieve success with the other three steps and as many have said before, there is a reason we have two ears and one mouth. After listening, then you have the appropriate baseline and credibility to join the conversation. Imagine if you were at a housewarming party and walked up to a group of four people already engaged in a conversation and said, “I’m not sure what you are talking about, but here is what I want to talk about.” You don’t want to be “that person” at the housewarming party and you don’t want to be “that person or company” in the socialsphere. Even those who have fully bought into listening, are you really practicing it? Does your MD receive a one-page weekly summary or “listening report” that gives high level data on what is being said about the product, service, or brand? What do people like? What don’t they like? Do you have a similar report for your competitors?

Many get the listening and interacting part correct, but then they commit a terrible crime. They don’t do anything (react) based on the suggestions and information gathered? If 90% of the people complain about a certain aspect of your product or service, it’s imperative that that issue is resolved, and resolved promptly. Conversely, if 90% of the conversation is centred around certain aspects of the product or service that people love, then it’s imperative that this information is placed in the appropriate hands (PR, production, sales, customer service).