Social media is like the way ten years ago Google revolutionised the way web pages are found on the Internet. The move from CD ROM to the Internet was a major leap forward in modern day communications. I now access Google as easily as making a mobile call. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn are examples of mass social media communication. Technology has brought us here by guiding us down the same path as the international telephone call and the email revolution. Very soon social media will be as common as the most taken for granted modern communication infrastructures.
People are already turning to Facebook to find out their favourite retailers latest release in fashion lines. People are already using Twitter to ask customer services teams questions that are specific to individual companies. Companies are already placing their corporate videos on YouTube because of the sheer volume of users and the way it ranks highly on Google.
What is a Social Media Strategy?
As new methods of communication are introduced to businesses it’s very important to consider how our businesses will use this method of communication for the best. Telephone and email are no longer the only two methods of inbound business communication. It’s likely a high percentage of our customers are now registered and taking part in conversations using social media. How do we know our customers aren’t looking for us and asking questions about our products and services right now? A social media strategy will help you measure the risk of not being part of the conversation and will help you plan for taking control of what people are saying about your business online in the future.
Representing our Businesses Socially
The boundaries of a social media strategy also extend to our employees and the way our business are represented socially.
It’s quite normal for a company to mentor employees on how to represent the business when answering the phone or replying to emails. But does this extend to how our teams should represent the business on social media sites? By their very nature social media networks are very chatty and a good way of talking to friends and family. However, as social networks integrate further into our everyday life we’ve also become more comfortable with taking the conversation online and expanding our social group.
Now, because we’re becoming more confident in talking online the size of our networks are no longer constrained to the people we know. We’re now networking with old school friends, business colleagues, business contacts, and people who we share a common interest with. Twitter doesn’t have any social boundaries whatsoever.
As our social networks expand so does the reach of our conversation. It’s this massive extension of our voice that makes social networking such a powerful tool. Harnessed in the right way and our businesses can take a life of their own. Left unmanaged and our brands might not be represented the way we would like them to be.
By having a social media strategy we’re able to educate our employees in the correct use of social networks. I personally prefer the educational route to the blocking of social networking sites altogether. It’s now our responsibility as employers to provide our employees with comfortable working environments so our businesses are reflected positively online.
Social media has huge significance in the way businesses communicate. This article only scratches the surface of what should be and can be done.
I haven’t talked about the massive marketing and advertising potential social media enables or the ability to jump into conversations to safeguard our brands. Social media also has a huge market research opportunity and can extend our customer services teams beyond the constraints of our four walls.
It only takes small steps to start understanding the benefits of a social media strategy.
The first step is to recognise social media is here.
The second step is to start preparing for its growth.
James McLeod, Managing Director
Narvi Digital Media
james.mcleod@narvi.co.uk
http://twitter.com/followmcleod