Posts Tagged ‘Facebook’

The term “information superhighway” entered our dialect in 1978 when then Sen. Al Gore introduced it at a 1978 meeting of computer industry gurus. From there the definition of the phrase has grown to encompass a network that directly links millions of people – a superhighway not made of pavement and roads crisscrossed by motor vehicles but a tangle of invisible waves of information traveling around us that bring together billions of individuals seeking to exchange information.

In 2010 this complex, highly functional network takes on a much different personality. It is no longer merely billions of bytes of information zooming among computers worldwide but a smaller interpersonal network that provides an information resource in a large sphere among groups and in a smaller setting, among companies and employees.

Just as Twitter and Facebook have been used as social media marketing tools to connect ideas and information among large disconnected and fragmented groups of people, they can also be used to supply information among smaller, interrelated communities. In fact, today, executives use Twitter and Facebook to not only convey a message to consumers but to talk to their own employees. Twitter is the means through which CEO’s communicate and let people in their organization know what’s happening on a daily basis. Internal blogging is used as a two-way communication channel with employees to converse about events taking place the company, it is also a great tool to hear what employees are saying to each other and what could make them more productive.

This means of communication surpasses the internal newsletter as the new information source. It is faster, quicker and in real time – a fresh and immediate e-letter. Where you’d once wait weeks to have such information on your desk, today you wait minutes – seconds – which makes the e-letter’s contents much more relevant to a company’s operations. Employees want to know what’s happening in the company now and this instant supply of information can help in decision making and planning timely strategies. Social media marketing is not only the link that supports the connections among consumers and companies but the support that grounds and supplies news among people who work within the company.

This makes social media the new media for corporations worldwide – an informational superhighway informs employees which, in turn, brings results at the speed of light.

Unlike any other source, Social Media sites have given organizations the opportunity to create their online image and in turn, build their brand image.  Social Media Marketing lends organizations the skills to develop relationships with clients, insight into the company, and global exposure to the essence of what their company is.

Why is this beneficial to a business? It is beneficial because it gives organizations the tools and resources to build the image of what they see their company as of today, and what they see their company as in the future.

Several tools used within Social Media that will help a company build their image include:

• The physical image of a companies brand like logos, pictures, and videos are tools used several times a day on social media sites to help build a companies image.  Unlike a website which is usually static everyday, Social Media sites such as twitter and facebook are updated several times a day driving a company image into the minds of their audience.

• Brand image can also be developed through words.  Status updates, blogs and tweets to name a few are ways a company can develop their brand image. Through stories and descriptions their audience will have a grand picture of what their product is and how it  benefits them.

• Communication will also help develop a company’s brand image.  The unique benefit of Social Media compared to other internet marketing tools is that it directly speaks to the audience and encourages feedback.  Through this feed back an organization can measure if their brand image is being conveyed correctly and what type of steps can be taken to ensure a strong brand image.

The combination of images, words and communication that Social Media Marketing has to offer is genius, it gives all the right ingredients an organization needs to build and maintain their online image.  Used correctly, Social Media can ensure a company’s brand image goals will be successful goals.

Social Media is being described as something that is: “transforming people from content consumers into content producers”. 

Ever read a blog or comment about a product you were interested in purchasing?  Maybe you were considering purchasing a bookshelf at target online and you read through the comments to see how easy it was to put together?  That act of simply reading that comment section catapulted you into the wild and crazy world of social media.

Every comment section, blog post, Facebook status update, Linkedin profile, and “tweet” are spilled onto the web and all of that information is transformed into content searchable by engines such as Google.  What does this mean for your business? It means that simply having a website or having your businesses information on yellowpages.com is not enough. Consumers trust information from fellow consumers.  They also trust information from sources they feel they have a relationship with.  An events promoter in their local area that they have added as a friend to their Facebook will provide them with consistent information about the happenings in their area.  Over time, a trust is built with that business person. This “relationship marketing”  is the core of using social media  to a businesses best advantage. Let’s face it, consumers are educated enough to understand that a company’s website is biased yet, a fellow consumer that purchased a bookcase just like them is not.  A press release is biased, but an informational blog about how to barbeque correctly may not be. 

The idea that consumers want to be provided information rather than be sold on a product is a unique feature to Social Media. Developing a close relationship with a large number of clients via the internet is a lot less arduous then you may think.  The average Facebook user has 130 friends.  A status update that a member posts can reach 130 friends immediately, every comment that one of those 130 friends places on your status update can be view by their friends.  If one status update is commented on by 5 friends 650 people can potentially view that comment within a matter of seconds.  That’s one comment that may have only taken seconds to produce.    The small scenario above is just an example of the reach Social Media has. 

Social Media is calling for businesses small and large to get active, build relationships and provide information.  Plenty of Social Media experts exist.  Hiring an expert to guide your company into the future is a viable decision.  Social Media can only grow bigger, and the faster a business can get involved the better relationships they can build for the future.