Emily Maupai Zinberg - 08/07/2014
Companies who have a branded presence but are not monitoring social media are due for a harsh reality check. This is especially true of companies in B2B verticals who perceive social media as a consumer tool, and can’t gain an understanding of why it is relevant for them. Many will often point to some viral content, such as this humorous bumblebee cat GIF below, and say, “why do I need to be there?”
For some, this will sound painstakingly obvious, but I can’t tell you how many marketing managers and directors I still come across that do not fully understand the true value in adding social media to their MarCom strategy. This despite a recent report that states, “95% of Facebook users login in their accounts daily.” I think something that draws 95% of its users back consistently on a daily basis might be worth looking in to…just a thought.
Social media monitoring helps your brand
I cannot say it enough: even if your brand is not “officially” on social media, it does not mean that it is not being talked about on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, andLinkedIn. I truly believe that creating social media pages is not always the best choice for every brand. HOWEVER, every brand should monitor what their target audiences are saying about them online. What may seem like frivolous conversations can prove to be excellent customer insight that will help you better position your brand in the virtual world.
Why is establishing your brand properly on social media so important? Because people are relying on opinions posted socially to make purchasing decisions. This recent survey reveals that 92% of people trust social recommendations from people they know more than traditional media/advertising channels.
Negative conversations about your brand or products occur whether you participate in social media or not. Monitoring offers the chance for you to combat the negative comment and change it to neutral or perhaps into a positive. It can also make you aware of glowing recommendations that you can leverage in various marketing tactics.
Social media monitoring is also a great way for marketing professionals to obtain an online snapshot of the conversations and trends surrounding their respective industry. Listening to these conversations provides you the data to decide on social media recommendations you need to make to corporate management.
Before you dive in to the deep end…
Take some time to educate yourself on some of the popular platforms and terminology before you jump in to create your social media strategy. This prepares you so that if/when you seek help from an agency or vendor, the conversation won’t fly right over your head. Also, sit down with your colleagues and discuss the goals of your social media strategy. Some example questions you might want to ask are:
- Do you hope to gain brand equity from Facebook?
Social media is an excellent tool for building general brand awareness. This is true whether your brand is consumer or B2B. Determine what is your brand’s perceived voice or personality. When users read updates from your pages, you want that voice and messaging to exude your brand to a “T.” - Do you envision using social media as a customer service tool?
The real-time formats of the most popular social media platforms lead users to reach out to brands for help or answers, and they expect a quick answer. Using a monitoring tool that is created to alert you to users who are in need or are communicating distress allows you to respond in timely manner. This can be very handy to prevent negative situations from heightening. See example below. - Do you hope to increase sales from social media?
Marketing managers need to relate their social media investment to leads or sales. However, linking social media activity to a direct sale is not easy. What social media can do is offer invaluable insight and feedback that will help you better convert leads into sales.
Stay tuned for my next post on what social media monitoring and measurement tools are available to stay on top of your brand and industry conversations online. Until then, feel free to contact me at emaupai@3epr.com or learn more about social media by following us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.