Social media divides opinion in more ways than one. Some businesses see it as a revolutionary new method to reach out to their customers and recruit talents, while others have barely even registered its significance or think that ‘its for kids’.
If anyone still thinks the latter, they cannot be more wrong. Social Media is not an up and coming fad, it has already become an integral part of the new way businesses are being run and brands are being managed. Most of the astute top global brands are already using social media to generate leads, build brand equity, tweak product development and logistics. The advertising dollar is moving away from traditional media outlets in favour of digital campaigns because that’s where the consumers are.
Consumers are spending increasing amounts of time daily on social networking sites, forums, blogs and news sites and watching less TV and reading less print media. Moving to and being involved in the digital scene is no longer optional or trendy, its compulsory. This trend is happening everywhere around the world, not just in developed, consumerist nations.
Your customers are talking about your business and brand online but are you listening? Millions more are reading the comments/posts/remarks their friends/colleagues/relatives made about you and believing it a thousand times more than the messages you try to push to them in mainstream media. Have you accidentally outsourced your branding to strangers?
Before making big ticket purchases or even simple things like which movie to watch, consumers have developed the habit of checking out what other recommend by searching online. With the ubiquitous reach of the internet in homes, offices and mobile phones, consumer behavior has definitely evolved.
Do you want your prospective customers reading about negative comments on your products/services and choosing to spend their dollars with your competitors who garnered glowing reviews? Do you want potential talents who could enhance your bottom line joining your competitor because they read the tweets of your employees who grumbled about the long working hours at your company? All it needs is for someone to put their place of work on their profile, and you immediately have an online company representative whose misdemeanours can create a PR nightmare.
Beyond reputation management, social media is also being effectively used by global industry leaders to generate leads, address customer service complaints, gather competitive intelligence and draw meaningful, uncensored insights from your consumers’ minds.
Regardless of the industry you are in, social media definitely influences your business in some way. Take charge, and make sure that that influence makes a positive difference to your bottom-line.
