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To tweet or not to tweet?
There's a real buzz about Social Media Marketing. In the beginning it was primarily used by larger companies and brands but more recently there has been a huge growth in the adoption of social media by small businesses and it is completely revolutionising the way that they can interact with customers.
Put simply, Social Media Marketing is about using the tools out there.... e.g YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, to help market your brand or business by interacting with existing and potential customers. It can put a relatively small, local business on the same playing field as a corporate giant and it is less expensive and more accessible than many other forms of marketing/advertising. So it has to be a good thing....right?
Social Media is often referred to as a conversation. It should be remembered that this conversation will not only take place between a business and it’s customers (or followers) but that the customers can talk back and talk to each other! For the most part this is a good thing. It gives the business a great opportunity to form a relationship with their customers, to respond in real time and to give a face and a voice to their brand/product/service. Here in Bath for example, there is a really strong sense of community on Twitter and many local independent businesses share experiences and recommendations online
However, you are also open to negative criticism and you have to be prepared to deal with it. That conversation could become a big SHOUTY debate! The positive side to this is that you have an opportunity to respond immediately in the way that you want to.
One example of a big company responding to negative feedback was in 2010 when GAP revamped their logo after 20 years. The change of logo resulted in consumers posting negative comments all over social media. GAP responded and gave people back the original logo. This created a really positive buzz about the brand whose sales increased that year and customers felt that they had a voice in the company.
These days many purchase decisions will begin on the internet, from simply asking “Where should I have coffee today?” to “I’m considering having a Home Cinema installed, does anyone know of a business in Bath who will undertake the whole project for me?” and you may be diluting your business potential by ignoring a large customer base who use social media to find solutions.
Personally, the more I learn about social media the more I am beginning to embrace it and enjoy it....now if someone could tell me where the hash key is on a Mac I’ll tweet you a follow friday!
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