How companies are using social networking

While Social Media may be being toted as a new medium…it has been a part of my home life for a couple of years. Yes, I am the mother of two teens who are constantly on Facebook, blogs and YouTube. So while I have been aware of social media for a while, I have to admit it did not follow into my office until recently. This year, we at North Star Marketing have really begun to embrace social media as part of an integrated marketing approach for ourselves and our clients.

 

However, there are still very few companies that have actually implemented social media at this time, but those who have identified it as a viable strategy for their company are at the very forefront of this booming trend. By using social media, you can empower consumers to talk back, thereby gaining massive amounts of consumer insight and creating personal and powerful consumer relationships. You can also create word-of-mouth recommendations between consumers and increase the visibility of your brand.

 

The way I see it, the Web 2.0 trend is changing the way we do business, and the companies that have already embraced social media are those least likely to be left in the dust when consumers prefer to hear marketing messages when being heard themselves. These companies are progressive and proactive. They truly are talking to their customers in a way that empowers their brand and helps their company grow.

 

One example of great social networking is something that I have seen a few companies do, somewhat accidentally. Social media marketing can be extremely powerful for local or niche businesses, but many of those business owners have no idea of the impact that a MySpace or Facebook page can have until they actually try it out.

 

There is a great bar in Ghent, VA, called The Tap House. The owners pride themselves on world class beer, live music, great pub food, and all the friends you could ask for. As a couple of MySpacers themselves, the owners decided to create a MySpace page for their bar a few years ago, and quickly became ‘friends’ with their many regulars. However, as time went on, friends of friends, and friends of those friends, and even friends of those friends, friended The Tap House (is your head spinning yet?). Basically, it can be said that the bar’s “friend” list grew like rapid fire, and today it boasts a captive audience of nearly 1,000 people. The menu, beer list, and event calendar are all posted on the page, as well as a long list of comments left by loyal Tap House fans, which sometimes borders on brand obsession.

 

Another great example of social networking in action is that of the Fox Searchlite movie, Juno. The film has a Facebook page and members are invited to check out the page and become a ‘fan’ on almost every piece of printed promotional material for the movie. The page has steadily grown in fans (at the time of this blog it is at 8,494) and these fans are encouraged to post their personal reviews and star ratings of the film. Not only is Fox Searchlite taking a risk by allowing uncensored reviews to be posted on its page, but it is also creating powerful word-of-mouth due to the nature of Facebook. Basically, if I were to go on to the Juno Facebook page and give the movie 5 stars, a message called a social ad would then be broadcast to all of my friends announcing my review and rating of the movie. Friends of mine could then note this as a personal recommendation from me, and could go out and see the movie for themselves, or even become a fan as well. Then their friends could do it, and their friends’ friends could do it…you get the point.

 

For certain types of brands, however, the MySpace or Facebook approach might not be the best way to reach a target consumer base. For example, culture conscious travelers are actively using a variety of social networks, but are not concentrated all into one group across all networks. Realizing that there had to be a better way to start a dialogue with all of these consumers at once, two avid travelers/entrepreneurs decided to create their own social network, called Matador. The concept of the network is built upon off-the-beaten path travel, whether it is for adventure or for true exposure to the cultures of travel destinations. And which companies are benefitting from the emergence of this new network? Remarkably, there are hundreds of non-profit and charity groups reaching out to travelers to encourage volunteerism and outreach while vacationing. The site was built as a means to connect with this particular group of adventurers, and encourages people to give something back to the communities they are visiting.

 

As a new media realm, this social trend isn’t being adopted by some of the larger corporations that don’t take it seriously enough. The Target Corporation is a strong example of this. A recent Target ad that depicted a woman lying spread eagle on a bull’s eye sparked a barrage of blogger backlash. These blogs, claiming that the ad was offensive to women, resulted in what was widely regarded as an obtuse response from the corporation. When one blogger inquired about the ad to the company’s media relations team, the response received stated that “Target does not participate with nontraditional media outlets.” If this isn’t social media suicide, I don’t know what is. Target’s unfortunate decision to snub bloggers resulted in the tarnishing of the good PR it had worked to rack up over the past decade. It shows us all how powerful social media can be and the care companies have to take to ensure that their brand reputation is being upheld across ALL media.

 

As this new trend shows, there is a lot of openness in the social media realm, and it is widely understood amongst marketers that a consumer sharing information about a brand or product with other consumers is far more powerful than anything a brand could do by putting a message in front of a user. Therefore, a clear understanding of social media, and the marketing opportunities they provide, is a powerful tool for marketers as the Web 2.0 generation progresses.

 

I hope you can clearly see the direct impact that social media is having on traditional marketing. The resulting word-of-mouth generated will most certainly lead to solid ROIs for the companies willing to participate. I would love to hear about any other examples you might have of great social media marketing. It really is a fascinating new arena we should all be watching! Drop me a line at April@fortheloveofmarketing.com.