crboynton’s blog

As  a digital marketer (agency side)  I’ve been lucky enough to work and push the digital gauntlet forward on many consumer products brands.  Without exception, these brands have all wondered and asked, “is Social Media right for my brand”?  This is a fair question because most of them don’t sell online.  Quiet honestly, I am hard pressed to think of a business which could not benefit from Social Media.  Here are 4 reasons to consider Social Media for your brand:

“Where the fish are“.  The reigning king of US social networks, Facebook, now boasts over 200 million registered users and is rapidly approaching the elite company in terms of monthly reach as measured against Google & Yahoo.

And as mainstream consumers learn what Twitter has to offer (and possibly tire of Facebook) I fully expect Twitter to join the elite party; my guess is by summer 2010.  Reach is only one aspect though.  By definition, the social networks create engagement which results in more time spent on site, versus say, Google which is a launching pad to the rest of world wide web.  Additionally, whether consumers are creating social content or just viewing it, a social environment provides a favorable consumer mindset for engagement.  Thus time spent and open minds on social sites create opportunity for brand marketers to connect with users.

Humanizing Brands.   Social Media can also add a dimension to a brand or company that just about any other medium can’t, and that is humanity.  Thinking of huge corporations like Microsoft, IBM or Dell doesn’t exactly conjure up feelings of closeness or understanding.  But when a company uses a blog to tell their story in an authentic way, it can be very powerful.   IBM for example, has centralized access on it’s corporate site to personal blogs written by their employees.  While they make a point to mention that the POV’s expressed in these blogs are those of the employees and not necessarily the company, they win a clear halo effect and a softer image for putting employee faces, names and words out their for all to see.

Loyalty… on Steroids. Social Media can also greatly enhance relationship building, which is the foundation for loyalty.  First, you can get a better sense of what the company stands for, how they think, speak and act  in an environment that encourages them to speak their mind.  If you like what you see I’m asserting that your perception of the company will improve.  Second, if you respond to a brand tweet, blog post or picture on Facebook (for example) you have an opportunity to get a direct, personal, relevant response from the brand – true 1 to 1 communication.  What better way to get to know a brand or company more intimately?  Prior to Social Media real two-way dialog between brands and consumers consisted of customer service calls (which are typically not positive engagements), contests and maybe market research (that’s kind of a stretch).

Multiplier Effect. Consumer participation with or contribution to social media spawns more awareness of and interaction with the social content.  The Facebook news feed update tells your friends what game you just played, the comment you left on that message board made the thread appear more active so others are more inclined to view it, the insightful blog post you read prompted you to Tweet It, Digg It, Stumble It or IM the link to your friends.  However it happens, this phenomena is real and beneficial.

I don’t think a social media strategy should replace your multi-channel approach to marketing, but I do think it can give your brand some added boost and that it deserves a spot in your marketing mix.  Those are my thoughts, now I’d love to hear yours.  Please share your comments!

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