Why companies need to get to grips with social media
I’m intrigued that it took a World Economic Forum (the one held recently at Davos) for some companies to realise that there’s more to working the web – gaining a business advantage using the internet – than simply having an expensive website.
But when it comes to coping with Twitter, Facebook LinkedIn, blogs, YouTube and the many other facets of the social media marketing mix, many business leaders are barely able to take the first steps. The Internet is dangerous, security and privacy are compromised and companies lay themselves open to fraud some Luddites will say. But it’s vital to be able to respond to the way your customers are talking about you and your competitors all over the Internet.
Imagine if the first thing your potential customers find when they search your company or product on Google is an unhappy customer sounding off about a bad experience: there are many examples of firms using (or not using) social media inappropriately, from Facebook’s own cack-handed approach to serving targetted ads to its users to BT’s use of the Phorm advertising platform. Mostly it’s because they have been perceived as less than transparent. Honesty and being upfront about marketing is valued in the socail media world.
At one Davos session, 10 prominent exponents of social media – including former Facebook and Linked-in executive Matt Cohler, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and Techcrunch editor Mike Arrington – came up with 10 different definitions. The most popular definition proved to be “human interaction in a virtual world”.
As the BBC pointed out in its report from Davos on corporate use of social media using such networks can provide a huge productivity boost – or alienate people if you get it wrong.
Social media cannot be controlled in the way that company website copy can be. A corporate blog can be the most deadly instrument on the Web – an Edelman study found that corporate blogs have the lowest credibility of all content on the internet. Failing to engage with social media, all participants in the Davos session agreed, could potentially lead to the destruction of a company’s brand.
“Used the right way, companies can turn customers into partners, through instant feedback that allows constant product development. Even better, done the right way (and with the right product or service), you can gently persuade happy customers to commend you using social media. That is advertising that no money can buy.” via the BBC
Originally published on reachfurther.com