Using social media
Online and mobile communication networking sites, like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, are becoming increasingly popular. The use of these and similar forms of social media has grown exponentially over the last five years to the point that social media is now part of the marketing mix used by a growing number of businesses around the world.
On this page:
- What is social media?
- Does social media have a role in business?
- What are the social media options?
- Are businesses using social media?
- How does it work?
- Getting started with social media
What is social media?
Social media refers to a fluctuating number of networking websites that allow people to link-up over a virtual network and communicate with each other.
The more popular sites have been designed to work on both computers and mobile phones and include: Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tagged, Yelp, Hi5, MyYearbook, Bebo, Foursquare, YouTube, and a number of blog sites, like Wordpress and Blogger.
These forms of communication have been adopted by a critical mass of the population and have become a powerful medium for word-of-mouth and customer-to-customer communication. Individuals are able to communicate with a vast network of people at the touch of a keypad.
Nielsen Wire notes that the world now spends more than 110 billion minutes on social networks and blog sites and that these sites are now visited by three quarters of global consumers that go online. This equates to 22% of all time online, or one minute in every four-and-a-half minutes online.
Their latest statistics shows that the average visitor spends 66% more time on these sites than a year ago, with usage increasing to six hours a month in April 2010, up from a 3 hours and 31 minute average the year before.
Does social media have a role in business?
As a new and popular form of communication, social media can give a business access to a large audience for very little cost, and is already playing a growing role in marketing and brand awareness for a number of companies. But there is another reason not to ignore this trend.
Social media has altered the power balance when it comes to business communication. Businesses are no longer in control of the timing and content of information sent out because customers are able to communicate among themselves. The few businesses that have chosen to ignore social media are not able to influence the debate or put their view forward. Businesses that have chosen to engage with their customers are able to participate in and influence the debate about their products or services.
As with any new technology, there is some heated debate about how much time and effort to devote to social media to get the best return on investment. You will need to experiment and monitor the results to find the right mix of time and effort for your business.
What are the social media options?
There are microblogging sites like Twitter, which limits newsfeeds to 140 characters. Sites like Yelp and Foursquare are also microblogs but focus on user alerts on where friends are dining out or partying and allow reviews and recommendations of venues and food.
Networking sites like Facebook allow you to share information, pictures and comments. MySpace, Hi5 and Bebo are similar, but tend to attract a different user profile. LinkedIn is a more business-focused networking site.
There are video and photo sharing sites like YouTube and Flickr, and blogs which allow you to post helpful advice, raise awareness or comment on just about anything.
Most people and businesses use a few of these options. Facebook is the most popular social networking site, reaching 400 million active users in February this year, and also boats a high degree of time spent on the site, with the average Facebook user spending 55 minutes or more a day on the site.
LinkedIn has seen a significant amount of growth in the last year and now has 60 million users worldwide and more than 170,000 Kiwi members.
Twitter recently announced that it is handling traffic of 40 million original tweets a day (this excludes re-tweets) at 600 tweets a second.
Are businesses using social media?
The annual Global Social Media Check-up for 2010 tells us that of the top Fortune Global 100 Companies, 65% have a Twitter account, 54% a Facebook fan page, 50% a YouTube channel and 33% a corporate blog, while 20% of the top companies use all four channels to communicate with customers.
The average for the top Fortune Global 100 companies was 4.2 Twitter accounts, 2.1 Facebook fan pages, 1.6 YouTube channels and 4.2 corporate blogs.
A number of New Zealand companies have embraced social media and have incorporated it into their marketing mix.
The Department of Conservation is one of five government departments using Twitter and has a controversial spokesbird squawking the conservation message on Twitter.
Air New Zealand has taken the concept one step further and introduced the Airpoint Fairy who grants daily wishes and communicates online and via Twitter. Vodafone has followed with a similar concept offering free airtime and other treats for tweeters, and ASB is active on social media.
How does it work?
Unlike traditional face-to-face media, social media allows you to communicate with a large number of people in a short space of time, with a few taps on the keyboard. Compared to traditional advertising and marketing, social media is accessible, affordable, immediate and easily altered or updated.
Although there are no direct costs to using social media other than having a computer or mobile phone and Internet access, you will need to bear in mind that it will take up a few hours of your time, or that of an employee, to monitor and update your social media channels.
You will get the most return on the time invested in social media if you target the sites that appeal to your target customers. Bear in mind that the uptake of social media varies from country to country, and notably between Asian and Western countries.
Do an Internet search to find the social media that will give you access to the greatest number of your target customers, or ask a few of your regular customers which social media sites they use – either in casual conversation or using more formal methods like a questionnaire or survey.
Getting started with social media
Social media can be used to broadcast updates, offer promotions and specials, give a behind-the-scenes look into your company or boost customer service levels and response times. Given the large following of both Facebook and Twitter, you are likely to want to establish a presence on both these sites.
It is easier to cut your teeth on one social network, rather than trying to get on top of several new sites at once. Your first step will be to choose one form of social media, establish a professional profile and presence, set up your profile and start networking.
Remember that the face your business puts on social media networks needs to be consistent with the overall brand and image you wish to project – so take the time to plan your social media presence properly. Social networking is a process, not a destination, and will take time and effort before it starts to pay dividends.
Once you are comfortable managing your business profile on your first social site or blog, you can consider expanding your presence to other sites. Programs like TweetDeck and HootSuite allow you to link your various social media accounts and update and monitor them from one central source. They also allow you to schedule posts for future dates and measure the effectiveness of your social media posts.
Remember, it’s not enough just to sign up for a social media account, and wait for business to start rolling in. You need to monitor the activity and socialise to reap the benefits. It is also a good idea to set up a Google Alert or Social Mention to let you know when your company, or a topic or area you specialise in, has been mentioned. This gives you the option to respond and position your company accordingly.
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