How Smart Businesses Join Social Networks
It’s official, social networks are the new black and growing bigger and more valuable to marketers every day. With over 130 Million active users on Facebook alone, the possibility of reaching your target market (and even your future target market) through this one social network is basically a reality.
From fortune 100s to start-ups, companies are flocking to social networks in an effort to connect with their customers in ways that are meaningful and genuine. If you’re a marketer thinking about establishing a presence, you’re probably wondering where to begin.
Should you build your own company profile? Should you hire an agency to handle your strategy? Is Facebook even the right social network for you? If not, then which and how do you find out? And what do you do once you’re officially ON Facebook or MySpace or Bebo…
I mean, how do you build a vibrant community that empowers your biggest fans and generates sales?
Wait. What? Sales? Ummm… Oh yeah, sales – we are marketers, we worship the ROI Gods and stand accountable for the dollars and resources we consume. If an activity cannot be directly attributed to an uptick in sales, is it a worthy course of action or should you reallocate time and resources?
The answer is more simple than you might expect. Ready for it? Okay – the answer is… that depends. As a marketer, really as anyone in business, you’ve got to succumb to trade-offs. The time and energy you expend on executing, managing and measuring social media campaigns is time and energy no longer available for another activity. In the end, it’s about balancing short term goals with long term objectives.
In my opinion, investing time and resources in social media is ABSOLUTELY worth the effort. Social media exists because it is, by nature, social. It is propelled by REAL people engaging in REAL conversations about the things that matter to them. Sometimes, if you’re lucky enough, that conversation turns to your company, your products, your brand. Are you there to join in? If not, shouldn’t you be? Not because you want to control it, but because you don’t want to miss a golden opportunity to influence it.
Whether it’s re-affirming the good things chatted about your brand, or addressing the negative, the important thing is to be there when it matters to prospects and customers. In the end,’it’s less about establishing an online presence (After all, we’ve proven that you’re already there by way of conversations) and more about influencing the role you portray in the ongoing drama.
Brands that respect and empower existing communities are more likely to see their social media campaigns pay off in ways that amount to increased sales. Do you really need to BUILD a community? How about starting with JOINING the one that already exists? Now there’s a concept.
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