More than just a passing fad…

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There is a lot of talk about Social Media and how it is used in business.  One of the keys to using social media is to realise that it isn’t a technology, it is about human behaviour.  Knowing this will help us decide how Social Media can actually help businesses. 

So what does Social Media actually do?  One way of looking at it is that it actually strengthens relationships, whether that is between you and your customer or whether it is between other people (either individuals or other businesses) who are talking about your product or service.    

If you consider it as an extension of the ‘networking circuit’ where you pitch your wares and make new contacts, hoping to influence their decision making in the future, - you will see it is another way of making your voice heard.  Many brands have realised this and research suggests that word of mouth increasingly influences purchase decisions with 60%* of buyers in the B2B space. Not only that, these figures also suggest that 51%* of people searching for products and information within social media are doing so to find recommendations from people who have experience of this product or service.  

 The above figures show just how important recommendations and discussion on social media are becoming, so when making the decision to embrace social media, consider which aspect of it will reflect your business in the best way. Facebook and Twitter may be popular, but are they the best place for you?  You need to remember that it is important to monitor your pages and threads and respond to any posts in a positive way – be prepared to take criticism as well as praise and turn it to your advantage. 

Whichever aspect of social media you use three key points to remember are:

• Be social – it is called social media for a reason – think about that networking event and the small talk that goes before the sales pitch.  It is fine to talk about your services or products but try to include other topics and discussions that are of interest to people as well, so that your social media stream is not just about you.

• Be valued – update regularly, join conversations that other users have started and generally get yourself known and liked. 

• Be friendly – this will encourage your followers to respect and like the way you are interacting with the social media community.  

At the end of the day social media is ‘social’, it’s about customers and prospective customers, not just about you. If you interact with them and discuss issues with them, then most of them will engage with you and your aim is that ultimately they will buy and/or recommend your product or your service. However, if you only talk about yourself, you will become social media equivalent of the lonely person in the corner at parties that everyone avoids engaging with! 

 

*Financial Times, 07 March 2012