RAPAPORT... The heart of social media is consumers having conversations,” explains Shiv Singh, director of strategic initiatives at Razorfish, which bills itself as one of the largest interactive service agencies in the world. Social media networking sites are an evolving phenomenon, but essentially these websites, including Facebook, Twitter and many others, are tools for their users, allowing their members to discuss and share information easily and efficiently in a trusted environment.
Major PlayersFounded in 2004, Facebook enables its members to set up a personal profile within the network. Facebook users “friend” each other — meaning they invite each other to view their profiles. Users search for existing and new friends on the network, blog, chat, play games, take quizzes, as well as post links, photos and videos to their heart’s content. Notably, companies can set up free “fan pages” of which Facebook users can become “fans.” Initially aimed at college students, the site now has over 300 million active users — defined as those who have visited the site within the past 30 days. Half of those users log in daily for an average session of 25 minutes.
MySpace is similar to Facebook, though it distinguishes itself by allowing more flexibility in setting up creative profiles using wallpaper, music and other options. The site has a lot to offer music fans through MySpace Music, the largest music platform on the web. MySpace launched in 2004 and has nearly 125 million active users.
Designed to connect professionals in the business world, executives from all of the Fortune 500 companies can be found on LinkedIn. Profiles summarize professional expertise and accomplishments. Job listings are also an important part of the mix. Founded in 2003, the site has over 50 million members.
Twitter’s “micro-blogging” network enables its users to send and receive messages known as tweets. Tweets are never longer than 140 characters and are displayed on the author’s profile page to be read by the author’s subscribers, called followers. The character limit was first set to make the service compatible with text messaging, officially referred to as short message service (SMS) messaging. Any business can look up what the Twitter community is saying about it by visiting search.twitter.com. Contrary to popular perception, just 11 percent of Twitter users are age 12 to 17, according to comScore. Twitter was founded in 2006.
YouTube lets its users upload and share videos. Core users range from 18 to 55, with the site receiving over 1 billion views a day. Every minute, 20 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube, which was founded in 2005.
On Yelp, users review local businesses, products and services. Businesses can join and respond to these reviews. Yelp claims over 25 million active users and was founded in 2004.
The Facebook NationWhat a blockbuster these forums have become. “If Facebook were a country, it would be the fourth most populated,” states Singh, the author of Social Media Marketing for Dummies. Mari Smith, president of the International Social Media Association (ISMA), counsels, “We think of social media as being word of mouth on steroids. With social media, one happy customer could lead to hundreds, even thousands, of new customers.”
“When you are talking about high-ticket items such as jewelry, people are going to go online and do research,” stresses John Moore, a marketing strategist and the “chief evangelist” for the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA). “We know person-to-person word of mouth is something that can really influence purchase decisions.”
“Social media helps small companies look bigger and big companies get smaller,” Moore attests. Small companies are accessing the very same tools that the big guys use, which, properly utilized, can make them stand out. Large firms, on the other hand, can retain the personal interaction with their customers that often suffers as brands grow.
Wholesalers Connect, TooIt’s not just for retailers. “Wholesalers are predominantly looking for retailers to connect and build relationships with,” Smith reasons. “That’s what these tools are for, to build relationships and find decision-makers, too. It’s like this moving, living, breathing Rolodex and business card and online networking event.” Moore points out that wholesalers can “listen to what customers are saying about products they like and don’t like.”
It is important for retailers and wholesalers to determine their objectives before they begin a social media campaign. Realistic goals include attracting new customers, getting existing customers to buy more and harnessing social media’s unique ability to transform existing customers into brand advocates.
However, Singh warns, “I always think that everything digital goes through what I jokingly consider ‘the nephew phase,’ when you feel that ‘my nephew or my niece can take care of it.’ That changes as soon as companies realize that you don’t want to leave your conversations with your customers to your nieces or nephews.”
A common misconception is the idea that “if you participate, people will follow,” cautions Moore. Just because a company sets up a fan page on Facebook, people will not pay attention unless something compelling is offered.
Finding a PartnerTo select an agency or an individual to help launch a social media campaign, Singh recommends looking for a firm that “is practicing what it is preaching.” Secondly, professionals should demonstrate that they understand how social marketing fits into the other forms of marketing. Thirdly, social marketers need to put a lot of attention into learning about your brand and customers, Singh advises.
In addition, Forrester Research ranks advertising agencies, Singh notes. If an agency is represented on the two standards bodies, the Social Media Advertising Consortium (SMAC) and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Social Media Committee, “that is typically a good sign,” Singh adds.
Moore concludes, “Retailers might be doing a lot of traditional marketing, but if they ignore the social media space, they are ignoring the place where a lot of perception is being formed.”
Social Media ResourcesSocial media isn’t a one-time campaign, “it’s a commitment,” says Shiv Singh, director of strategic initiatives at Razorfish. Some suggested resources:
- Social Media Marketing for Dummies, by Shiv Singh
- Groundswell, by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff
- Trust Agents, by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith
- Radically Transparent, by Andy Beal and Dr. Judy Strauss
- Putting the Public Back in Public Relations, by Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge
- www.mashable.com
- www.socialmediaexaminer.com
- www.ismaconnects.org
- www.womma.org
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - December 2009. To subscribe click here.