“If you want to play, you get to pay”
Bruce Springsteen, “Raise your hand” – The River, 1980 -
Companies as Constant Contact* have already understood that “Social (media) make it simple” and, proposing herself as expert partner for winning marketing strategy, they include in their never-failing strategy also the area of the online social media as part of the marketing mix to propose.
An example? ** : WE LOVE BOLOCO BURRITOS (click to watch the video)
And they don’t lie because online social media ARE new tools (and for someone even not so new) to insert in a marketing mix plan; yes, exactly as advertising and promotions. Who believe that online social media are not useful channels to make advertising or promotions? Raise your hand if you don’t believe and say thanks that I can’t watch you.
Online social media should be part (almost if your company has a website) of every marketing strategy. Be part doesn’t mean be successful, because as every tools it should be studied, verified, tested and “understood” before invest on it time, money and goals. Online social media are the most fast “interactive” world existing, and consequently it could be a boomerang even fastest if not utilized following their rules. Just to make a simple example, we should never forget that people use social network (any kind of social network) with different purpose, and also these purpose could change over time; consequently a company has to pay a lot of attention how to communicate, and to who communicate avoiding at maximum standardization of message and situation. Online social media is the real new form of
‘Word of Mouth Communication”, and (like happen in the outline way) is the most powerful way of persuasion on the web. In simple, if you have good image or you have act well someone will probably don’t believe on the positive world about you, but if have a bad image or have act bad EVERYBODY will believe on this and sometimes FOREVER; this simple concept is empathized in the online social media environment, where the comments, the criticism and the gossip are very fast, very deep going EVERYWHERE and to EVERYONE. If you are a big company with a strong brand you can sustain the weight of this bad publicity, but if you are small company with a small business this bad publicity could became really dangerous for your affairs, and sometimes when you have undertook the wrong road just make a u turn to the right could be almost impossible.
People tend to heavily rely on negative information about small business, while people tend often to ignore negative information about companies able to establish in the past strong brand image: the arena of the online social media are the best place EVER, in my personal opinion, to generate this situation. This should be an issue for a psychology class/forum, but the fellowship, the confidence, the faith and the harmony that are generating by the online social media are something really scary for how big and solid those things are.
If you have a small business you need to be present in the online social media environment for your correct marketing mix approach, but in the same time you have to understand since the beginning that your risks are bigger. Obviously situations are different depending on the type of business (the risk are different if you produce and sell bubblegum compare to a cruise company for example, and also the strategies to communicate utilizing the social network are different), more the consumers expects from your product/services, more they can talk on the social network, more questions they can ask you, and more consequently, if not satisfied about your product/service, can fells betrayed and so spreads of bad image. However there are small business, are fore example sport association, cultural association, event’s agencies, cinemas, theatres that can optimize at the best the goals of their main activity (for example a sport association could raise the number of the associate or fans) using the online social media. I have created and managed, in my past experience, successfully and without too much pain a social network profile for the sport organization I worked; I have studied for this, nothing “born over the plant”, but the final result has deserved all my previous efforts.
Obviously the social network is a total different arena compare to other form of communication, they have their rules, they choose the game and companies have to take care of it. If you are a company, before choosing your social network strategy, you have to understand the rules of the game; no other way. Is like a tennis game, you could be the best one playing on the clay, but if you are playing at Wimbledon and you never played before on grass, you are next to have some really big trouble. And the same happen to the company that, operating in small business, doesn’t understand the rules of the game that the online social media have decided.
Thanks also to my past experience, I think that the world of the online social media is like the sea; but it could be a Mediterranean Sea, quiet and full of fish, as it could suddenly transform in an stormy and full of dangers Ocean if a small business company doesn’t know how to manage the ship. Those are mine suggests for swimming in this sea in the most quite possible way:
1) Choose the best tool
Social media are not all the same, they differs one from the other. Small business company has to choose the ones that seem more efficient and on line with his strategy.
2) Find a leader
Even if social media are a new phenomenon, there are in the market some experts than better the other know this subject (and the opening of this blog is a proof of this). Is better to invest time and money in those people, before waste more money and time after trying maybe also to solve a problem.
3) Follow the flow
A company can’t control all the events that occur inside a social media. Best than try to have control on the social media, a small business company has to be prepared for manage the unforeseen and the exceptions, that should be over time like routine utilizing the social network.
4) Always be prepared to the stormy
Suddenly, as mentioned before, could happen that a comment, a campaign or an initiative provoke a tide of bad comments and reactions. In the online social media word a company has not to be afraid to make a mistake, but at the same time it has to be prepared to react against every dangerous situation.
5) Act as a tem
Social media successful strategy is the combination of a team work. Editing, customer care, and selling people have to speak the same language so that the company’s communication could be the most homogeneous and coherent possible.
6) Take advantage of the quite moment
Always in the business there are quite and shake moment. In the quite moment a company has to invest all the possible energy in his social media campaign, because after we would have no time to study and realize correct strategy.
7) Be brave
As a ship, companies that never left the port hardly will be able to take the opportunities the sea propose them. The word of the social media can be scared, and even if some other small business company has failed in their social media campaign, remember that however at the end we would pick up more than if we wouldn’t do anything.
Because remember, “If you want to play, you get to pay”
Thanks, Lorenzo
Wow Lorenzo! You make a number of great comments about the world of social media and its tremendous effects on the world of business. The example you posted of Boloco Burritos serves as a great example of a firm properly deploying social media into its marketing strategy and it really goes to show the online social media tools, notably Facebook and Twitter, have replaced the traditional "word of mouth" of consumers; but will this trend continue? However, you mention that social media needs to be a part of every marketing strategy; but is this really the case? There are many businesses and organizations whose customers are not online and thus these firms would not integrate social media. Social media has worked for numerous companies, but just because the majority of firms are incorporating it into their marketing strategies doesn't mean all organizations large and small need to jump on the bandwagon as well. You mention that sometimes actions taken through social media can lead to problems that can't be rectified, which presents an important consideration for businesses to make. In essence, taking part in social media requires loosening up and granting your consumers, your facebook friends, and your twitter followers to take control of you and that doesn't always mean positive publicity. Social media entails two way communication and thus the benefits may not always outweigh the costs.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the steps and tips you mention for a delving into social media are great! It is critical for firms making efforts to join the social media bandwagon to select the social media tools most applicable to them and continuously oversee the process and be on the lookout for potential challenges.
Social network definitely is a big opportunity for small businesses. It can be used to interact with clients, promote companies' products, and reach potential customers. However, whether to use social media or not depends on what kind of business the company has and companies need to balance potential benefits and risks. It is not for every single small business. For example, a pop and mom store, the businesses are too small and they are not technical savvy. Their current and potential customers do not have access to internet. In this case, they should not utilize online marketing. It is better to advertise by mouth to mouth.
ReplyDeleteI like your opinion "Small business must understand the rules of the game that the online social media have decided."
ReplyDeleteI agree that "if big and small business understand these rules, social media brings tremendous benefits to both business." And it will be necessary to participate in those games.
However, I belive these rules are too strict and complected. Also, other players in this game are very strong. You mentioned that "if you are playing at Wimbledon and you never played before on grass, you are next to have some really big trouble." I like you comment, but I would like to add one more comment. "to play at tournaments, players must be qualified." Are all small business capable of participating in those games?
As Qin mentioned above, small business such as a pop and mom stores can participate, but they are not ready to control. I suugest that before they participate in these game, they must establish some brand awareness. Often, their potential customers are not in social media. Therefore, best step could be;
1. get customers to some extent.(setablish some brand awarness)
2. go into social media and invite these current customers to companies' social network.
3. find potential customers through current customers.