Are you involved with social media for your company?
Recently I attended a seminar where the speaker was responsible for social marketing for a major Fortune 500 corporation.
Until his marketing role was expanded, his company paid little attention to what was being said about it on social sites, online groups and chat rooms.
Those in the C-Suite did not show much interest in following any type of online discussion about their business or products. Nor did they seem that interested in what was being said about their competitors.
All that changed however when the speaker started to seriously monitor a variety of online groups and chats concerning their product area.
Both pros and cons were voiced by customers and others. He heard clients and prospects talk about new products recently released by his competition. In fact some of those products appeared to be getting a lot of attention in the marketplace.
Equipped with this information he presented it all to the company’s marketing executives. Soon they empowered him to step-up the company’s online presence.
The speaker began the proactive monitoring and communication with those in selected key social sites. He then created a four pillars approach to working within social media.
He listed those pillars as…
Social Listening. This is ascertaining what is being said about your company and your competitors. It also entails monitoring a variety of customers and seeing who the real influencers are in your industry. You can also monitor these influencers by volume and see who is doing the most talking. Then you can create a strategy to communicate with these influencers and/or launch a product or initiative that shifts the conversation.
Promotion. Which is knowing when to disseminate news and information about your company. This includes sharing story themes and content with customers and prospects. It includes researching each social site for the best day and time to release your news and reach the largest audience.
Thought Leadership. Which can include executive written blogs and published articles highlighting the company’s perspective on forward-looking topics within the industry. These items can be linked and/or introduced by the speaker within a group discussion or just posted on a social site.
Customer Support. This involves monitoring social sites to help with problems and respond to questions and concerns.
The plan is for this social interaction to integrate with an overall marketing strategy. That strategy not only helps builds the corporate brand but also helps executives better understand customer needs. The result can lead to the launching of not only new corporate initiatives but also new products.
Social listening can be a wise investment not only for this corporation but also for most others.
