Tag Archive for: social media

8 Questions to Determine if You Run a Social Business

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There are a few simple questions whose answers can tell you whether or not you are running a ‘Social Business’.

social business Responsive Branding™In keeping with the theme of the week, we decided we would create a short, simple survey that can help a brand determine whether or not it is a ‘Social Business’.

The 8 questions below are simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ questions and come with enough explanation to make answering them fairly easy. Go through the questions, answer all eight, and see if your score was high enough to qualify your brand as a ‘Social Business’!

1. Does your brand have a presence on social networks?

This refers mainly to the ‘Big 6’ (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+ and Pinterest) and others. Does your brand have a page, account or simply a presence on any channels that have been deemed social on the web?

2. Does your brand have a blog?

This can either be a standalone blog on your website, or a blog built on a blogging platform like Blogger, Tumblr, WordPress or something else. Essentially, does your brand have a platform on which visitors can see why your company is an industry leader?

3. Are you engaging with your audience?

This is meant purely as conversation. Think about whether your brand is participating in conversations in the socialsphere around your products/services, competition or your industry.

4. Are you leveraging your data?

Every action on social media is recorded and stored. Some brands choose to use it to better their programs and others do not. Which category do you fall into?

5. Do you employ ‘Responsive Branding’?

Responsive Branding is the idea of leveraging big data (question 4) and applying it to your overall marketing and business strategies in order to appeal to the tastes and preferences of your engaged audience.

6. Have you figured out where social media fits into your overall marketing strategy?

Social media is not here to replace your other business activities. It is a tool like any other. Make sure you have figured out where it fits in to your business and marketing strategies (maybe with ‘Responsive Branding’ – just a thought).

7. Are you testing content with your social audience?

Not everything you do is going to generate the kind of buzz generated by a new Apple release. You are going to need to figure out what people want based on content testing in order to find a content strategy that works for you.

8. Has social found a place in areas other than marketing?

Social media is not just about marketing your brand – it is a communications tool. It can be used for internal communication, customer service, research and development – you name it!

Have you gone through and answered all eight of these questions? OK – good.

Now look through your answers. If you answered ‘No’ to any of these eight questions, your business is not a ‘Social Business’ just yet. At least not entirely. You might have answered ‘Yes’ to several, placing you in the maturing stages of becoming social. That’s still far ahead of many brands out there and you should keep up the good work. You’re on the right track!

What is your definition of a ‘Social Business’ and which of these questions might you change/remove and what would you add? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

t2social social medis marketing strategies

3 Audiences on Social Media You Are Marketing To

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What audiences on social media are you targeting with your marketing?

audiences on social mediaWe are all familiar with demographics when it comes to social media. We might be looking to target middle-aged women, or college-aged men, but these criteria are pretty superficial. We need to ask ourselves what audiences on social media we are really looking to target when it comes to social marketing.

There are three very specific types of audiences that we aim to engage with on social networks. Each of these groups engage with brands in very different ways, and our marketing efforts need to reflect that.

In order to simplify the explanation of these audiences, we’ll stick to one, easy example: a health research institute.

Direct Affect

When it comes to health, wellness and research, there is a small group that consistently has one aspect of the field or another on their mind. These are people who have been directly affected by the illness or condition that the research is looking to cure.

For the health research institute, the goal in using social media is to keep this highly and inherently engaged audience up-to-date with the work that is being done and breakthroughs in the field.

While sharing content every second of every day is not necessarily going to be the best course of action for most brands, there should be an attempt to keep this audience active on social channels by sharing content relatively consistently.

First-Degree Separation

Now a much larger population when it comes to this health research institute is going to be the one made up primarily of people who have not experienced the condition that the research is hoping to cure, but who can relate personally to it due to the fact that someone they know or are related to someone who has.

This is a group that does not consistently think of this ailment, but when it is brought to their attention, it certainly resonates. For the health research institute, there needs to be an effort every so often to remind this second audience on social media as to why they exist.

This audience does not follow the activity of the health research brand as closely as the first group, but calls to action will certainly resonate, often profoundly.

Societal Connection

The third and final audience on social networks is the one least aware or affected by the brand. This group is not thinking about the activity of a brand consistently, if ever, and will likely not pay attention to the content unless it is relevant within society.

One example of this is the month of October for breast cancer awareness. During this month, the cause is seen almost everywhere, from community fundraisers to the NFL. It is during this period that research institutes can generate new awareness within this third audience. From there, during the rest of the year, the content shared to the first degree audience may seem a little more relevant to this somewhat removed group, and calls to action may generate more success.

Of course, there are other audiences we may find on social networks. But these three categories need to be front of mind when creating content. Understand what types of audiences will be looking at your content, and diversify your content strategy in order to appeal to every one of those audiences.

How do you appeal to all three of these audiences on social media? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

t2social social medis marketing strategies

Social Business: What Does the Concept Mean, Really?

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We often hear of the concept of Social Business, but what does that really mean?

what is a social businessThis week, the theme of each of our blog posts will be this idea of Social Business and trying to breakdown the concept in a way that any business can understand and apply it.

A lot of people see Social Business as meaning a number of different things. That’s understandable; this is a relatively new concept so there is a lot of flexibility in terms of what it is and how it applies.

Social Business: A Definition

A lot of people consider the term ‘Social Business’ to mean something that it isn’t.

On a very superficial level, there is the school of thought that thinks a social business is one that has a presence on social media. There are also those that feel as though a social business refers to a member of the tech world, maybe an app developer or a standalone social network. These are not ‘wrong’ per se, they are just incomplete.

According to Deloitte, a ‘social business’ is one that employs any of the following elements:

  • Consumer-based social media and networks
  • Technology-based, internally developed social networks
  • Social software for enterprise use
  • Data derived from social media and technologies

(Definition taken from the MIT Sloan Management Review Research Report 2013 in collaboration with Deloitte University Press, Social Business: Shifting Out of First Gear.)

I would recommend taking it a step further. There are millions of businesses that could technically, based on the criteria above, be considered ‘social’ in some form or another. Now, the study cited goes on to explain that there are three types of ‘social businesses’: those in the early, developing and maturing stages of becoming social. That said, I would still create an additional barrier to considering a business social.

What Is It, Really?

In order for a business to truly be considered ‘social’, at least two of the criteria above must exist within the business. Those two are that the business must be present on consumer-based social media and that data derived from social media activity needs to be incorporated into the execution of business initiatives.

The world is social. In order for a business to be considered social as well, it needs to be highly active on social media and using the data derived from these media in order to modify and (this is the important part) improve business operations. A few weeks ago, I wrote an article detailing the concept of Responsive Branding. For a business to be ‘social’, this has to be a factor in business operations.

Take the data collected on social – and there is a lot – and use it to your advantage. If you really want to be a ‘social business’ you need to be using social to run your business. Simply sharing content to Facebook does not a ‘social business’ make. Analyzing response, engagement, customer reception, conversion and any other data from your social networks and using that information to build your business makes your business social.

Now, one of the inherent (or, at least, more likely) results of taking social so seriously is going to be the use of internal tools, like Salesforce Chatter, in order to increase internal efficiency. But for a business to really be social, points one and four need to be there.

So ask yourself, is your business social, really? Tell us why or why not in the comments below or on Twitter!

Also, stay tuned for more articles this week on Social Business!

t2social social medis marketing strategies

Social Equity: A-B Testing on Social Media

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What value can A-B Testing on social media add to your business?

a-b testing on social mediaLast week, we discussed the value added to your business from Responsive Branding in our Social Equity segment. This week, we are going to look at a similar concept: A-B testing on social media.

When putting together a campaign, branding initiative, launching a new logo or simply figuring out which content generates the highest engagement, you might have several options to choose from. Social media adds a considerable amount of ease to the decision-making process, and that saves you time and money.

New Techniques

Focus groups are expensive and time consuming. And even after creating a questionnaire, putting a campaign together and making a decision based on the opinions of a selected group of people, you still may not have the data you are looking for.

A-B testing on social media offer a new type of focus group. You have two company slogans and you are not sure will generate a better response form your audience. What can you do to figure it out? Instead of going the conventional focus group route, why not reach out to the people that are actually your fans?

People who have liked your page or followed your brand online are more likely to provide you with honest, useful answers. Furthermore, you will be able to aptly apply the data knowing that your audience made the decision for you!

Social Equity

In our piece about Responsive Branding, we noted that your brand needs to be able to adapt to the market in real time. There is no longer the option of reactive marketing techniques. By evolving with the tastes and preferences of your audience, you stand to keep in touch with them in a much more personal way than the competitor who ignores the audience.

Reaching out to your market provides you with valuable insights. The costs saved (noted above) can grow considerably, and by the time certain changes are implemented, it might be too late to recoup those investments. A-B testing on social media offers fast, reliable ways to circumvent these costs and generate significant returns.

Is your brand testing content and initiatives on social media? How has the strategy worked for you? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

t2social social medis marketing strategies

Why Social Care is Increasingly Important

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Social Care – or customer service on social media – is becoming increasingly popular, and the numbers show that it is equally important.

social care twitterToday, roughly 1 in 3 online adults prefers to engage in Social Care with a brand than to reach out through conventional customer service channels (i.e. phone).

Conventional customer service is time consuming. For the brand, it is an expensive practice that we have learned to accept. For the customer, it can sometimes be difficult or a nuisance. In fact, 48% – nearly half – of consumers say that they will leave a company website if they do not receive proper assistance.

With these numbers in mind, it is hard to deny that Social Care is an important feature to include in your social media strategy. Below are a few of the reasons why Social Care is increasingly important to offer to your customers.

People Want It

In an age where critics point out that face-to-face communication is diminishing, there is no proof more clear than the preferences of consumers. Over one third of consumers would prefer to tweet a brand than to sit on the phone and wait for a call to be answered. What’s more, people want their issues addressed right away.

Studies show that a shocking 71% of consumers want their issues addressed within 5 minutes of reaching a company. When you are dealing with conventional forms of customer service, achieving those goals can become expensive. But it can be detrimental if a brand ignores it; 92% of consumers have left a brand because of poor customer service. Though it may seem like consumers prefer robots, they still want to be treated like a human. A respected customer is a happy customer.

It’s Good for Business

Here are the real reasons why Social Care is so important. When people get what they want, they spend more and stay loyal.

As noted above, nearly half of your site visitors will leave if they cannot get the information or assistance they are looking for. On they other hand, people who receive strong customer service on social media spend, on average, 21% more. That’s a major difference!

Customers who receive good social media service also recommend your brand to others. Over 70% of customers, in fact, will recommend a brand based on the good service they have received.

With a good Social Care program in place, everybody wins. A respected customer is a happy customer, and a happy customer is a loyal customer, and loyal customers keep us in business!

Do you engage in Social Care? How has it worked for you? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

t2social social medis marketing strategies

New Social Media Demographics [INFOGRAPHIC]

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When it comes to marketing, you are going to need to know where your social media demographics can be found.

With billions of accounts in the socialsphere, it is hard to choose which avenue might be best when it comes to social media marketing. Your business demographics might be well-defined, but your social media demographics might vary considerably.

In the infographic below, there are some fairly recent statistics on social media demographics, and there are some pretty interesting ones at that. Of the great stats below, perhaps the most interesting one relates to Facebook demographics. Currently, a surprising 46% of Facebook users are over the age of 45!

There is constant debate over whether or not social media marketing can reach prospective leads that are not millennials. After all, are older generations really using Facebook and other social networks? Of course, LinkedIn is made up of professionals, many of whom are older. But this statistic shows that your demographics can be anywhere on social media, and it might be dangerous to ignore any one network because of preconceived notions of who might be using them.

Take a look at the infographic below and let us know which statistic you think is most important or interesting when it comes to social media marketing. Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

social media demographics

Social Equity: Responsive Branding

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Social media offers great opportunities for Responsive Branding™, and that can add a lot of value to your business.

Responsive Branding™What is Responsive Branding™? The concept of Responsive Branding™ relates to making brand and marketing modifications based on the preferences, comments and reactions of your audience.

If there is one thing that people are not shy about when it comes to social media, it is letting the world know how they feel – about anything. This includes your brand. In his book, Socialnomics, Erik Qualmann notes that, “The beauty of social media is that it will point out your company’s flaws; the key questions is how quickly you address these flaws.”

Responsive branding is the way your company can address these flaws. As you monitor market reactions to your marketing and advertising efforts, you can make modifications in real time in order to appeal to the tastes of the market. Few other platforms offer such a feature, and the benefits can be astronomical.

Real Time Adaptation

Imagine knowing exactly how the market would react to a new marketing initiative before launching it. Sure, there are focus groups, and other conventional marketing and advertising techniques, but these are time-consuming, expensive and may not entirely accurate.

Responsive branding allows your brand to reach out to the market and gain their insights before the official launch of a program. A great, very recent example of this is Yahoo!’s logo redesign.

The search giant has been rebranding since Marissa Mayer took over roughly one year ago. Recently, they decided to present a new logo to the world. But were they going to have a creative team work on it behind closed doors and present what they thought was the best option? Of course not! Why waste money, time and resources doing that when you can let the market tell you which of your options is best for them?

Social Media Polling

As noted above, focus groups are expensive, difficult and not the most accurate. Social media eliminates much of the difficulty associated with focus groups and conventional testing.

Reach out to your audience on social networks. Your fans, followers and subscribers are your market. These are the people that have expressed an interest in your product or service and it is this demographic you should be catering to. Once again, the financial benefits associated with social media polling are significant.

Essentially, the Social Equity derived from Responsive Branding™ is obvious. A slew of new opportunities presents themselves with regards to your overall marketing and branding strategies thanks to your social media efforts.

Does your brand engage in Responsive Branding™? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

How Restaurants Use Social Media [INFOGRAPHIC]

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Restaurants are very well-equipped to succeed using social media, they just need to know how to use it!

There is no shortage of examples for how restaurants use social media. We did a case study on a restaurant’s use of Instagram a short while back to showcase just one of the ways social media can be a powerful tool for restaurants.

However, despite the obvious use of review sites like Yelp! or sharing images of food on Facebook or Instagram, some restaurants have a hard time understanding how they can benefit from the strategic use of social media.

In the infographic below, there are ten great examples of how restaurants use social media, and what they can do differently in order to benefit from the tools. Though some of these uses may seem trivial, many restauranteurs and marketing teams tend to overlook even the most obvious uses of social media when it comes to their restaurants or restaurant clients.

Take a look through some of these examples and think back on when you engaged with a restaurant on social media, and what they did differently that made you remember them. Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

how restaurants use social media

Social Media Case Study: Financial Times

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What is there for marketers to learn from the Financial Times social media strategy?

financial times social mediaVisit the Financial Times Google+ page and you will see an innovative use of social media by a brand in an industry that many think is outdated. The Financial Times social media channels looks great on the outside, but there is a lot taking place on the inside as well from which marketers can take a lesson or two.

At a 125 years old, the Financial Times is not necessarily a brand that many would expect to see incorporating social media in such a crucial way. With the exception of a select few, like the Huffington Post, news publications tend to use social media for nothing other than a secondary vessel through which to share information. The Financial Times, on the other hand, has adapted their model to incorporate social media to the fullest, and it is paying off in a big way.

There are two key features when it comes to the Financial Times social media program that make it stand out. First, it is engaging with its broad audience on a number of channels, primarily Google+. Second, the marketing team behind this strategy has been paying close attention to the analytics of their social media efforts, and they have been evolving according to the successes and failures they have experienced.

Below are three key lessons that marketers can learn from the marketing team behind the Financial Times social media success.

Sharing Rich Content

Much like the case study we did about H&M, the Financial Times shares rich, social-specific content to their social media audience.

Their networks do not simply regurgitate information posted to their website, they are sharing much more with their audience in order to keep them engaged.

Engaged with the Audience

And speaking of engagement, this is at the forefront of their strategy. They are not simply sharing, they are talking.

The Financial Times has built their network to its current size by engaging with their audience wherever they could. By listening to what is being said, the strategy was able to adapt and appeal to what the audience wanted. This has proven to be among the most successful factors in their strategy.

Monitor Analytics and Adapt

The only way to grow a social media program is to pay close attention to your results, and use that data in order to expand your network. This is exactly what has grown the Financial Times social media program into what it is.

Few brands – in the media field or otherwise – truly pay attention to their metrics. It is hard to imagine considering the weight put on the measurability of social media. By focusing on their analytics, the Financial Times has managed to continually grow their social presence.

Which of these three features do you think is most important for a brand’s success on social media? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

t2social social medis marketing strategies

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