For most people, the biggest obstacle to overcome before they can begin seeing real value from their social efforts is the way they view it.
Far too often, the fact that social networking is conducted through a digital channel tricks people into thinking that their shortcomings are technological.
I spend a large portion of my time trying to get people to see that, really, social networking doesn’t have much to do with technology at all.
In my experience, at least 60% of SMEs currently using the major social channels use them as advertising channels. After building a large following they will bombard their followers and friends with offers, promotions and direct sales messages in the hope that they see a direct ROI.
They won’t.
Social networking is a great way to build business connections. Whether you use it to keep up with industry leaders, competitors or potential prospects, it removes many of the barriers which often stop us connecting in the real world.
Though I’ve built many meaningful connections which have stayed firmly in the digital space, most of these relationships never make it beyond being just a ‘connection’.
There are businesses in Wales who are leading the way in their use of the internet and the social web. Unfortunately, the big picture is a lot bleaker.
Figures show that nearly 40% of welsh business don’t have a website. The figures also show that only 84% of small businesses in Wales say they use the internet in some way. Though these figures may not seem like much to worry about, they are significantly lower than the UK average.
Whichever way you look at it, Wales is lagging behind.
Enter Google
In an attempt to help more businesses get online, the Welsh Government has teamed up with Google. After a launch in Cardiff on the 6th March, Google will be sticking around for a whole year to help develop the skills of Welsh business owners.
The help will come in the form of free workshops and the Google Juice Bar.
I’m really pleased that the focus of this push is on skills rather than financial investment. The internet is an incredibly powerful tool for businesses. With very little financial investment you can build a strong and profitable web presence – you just need to know how to do it.
Laurian Clemence, a spokesperson for Google, has pointed out that ‘people who have their business online see their business grow four to eight times faster than those that don’t’. Giving welsh businesses the skills they need to succeed online will result in much needed growth and help SMEs across the country through a difficult economic period.
The first event is held at The Coal Exchange, Cardiff, on 6 March from 4pm till 7pm. The Juice Bar will be running for 3 months and the workshops will be running for a full year.
If you are interested in getting your business online you can sign up here.
For those businesses that already have a website you may have begun looking at social media as a potential marketing channel. If you want to learn more about using Twitter for business, Mobile Apps or SEO why not come along to the ‘What’s Next?’ Social Media Event in Cardiff next week?
Social media is moving into its next phase of development.
For the last few years the most popular social media sites have been frantically collecting data about their users.
Now it’s time to make use of it.
The Monetisation of Social Media
Facebook’s eagerly anticipated IPO is a landmark which looks likely to be preceded by a period of measured and exploratory monetisation. The other major social media platforms are also likely to follow suit.
Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn have an enormous amount of valuable marketing information about their users. They are now making it possible for companies to buy highly targeted advertising which, if used effectively, could produce an unmatched ROI for SMEs and big businesses.
Is Social Media Advertising Right For You?
As more companies use the major social media sites for advertising, the prices are beginning to fall in line with other online advertising programs. Social media advertising now presents a viable online platform for all businesses.
Which platform you choose to focus on depends largely on who your ideal prospect is. Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn all have a slightly different user base. It’s likely that your business will see better results with one of these platforms. Unfortunately, the best way to find out which one is best for you is to experiment.
Is It Different to Other Online Advertising?
Well, yes.
If you approach paid social media advertising as if you were using Google’s display network, or search advertising, you are likely to see limited success.
When people are in their ‘social space’ they want companies to recognise this. It’s crucial that the content of your ads matches the function and feel of the social media platform you are using.
When you are writing your ad, the content should be far more conversational. This isn’t the place for a hard sell.
When prospects see your ad in this context, they are seeing it alongside social comments from their friends and contacts. If your ad is too direct, people will feel like you are intruding. To get a ‘click’, your ad needs to be sociable.
Write your ads as if you were talking to a friend. Be sensitive. Focus on the impression you create not the click through rate.
All new marketing channels need time to evolve. Social media is no different.
The platforms and techniques that companies use for online CRM (Customer Relationship Management) are still developing at an alarming rate.
Despite the mine of personal information that social media gives companies access to, CRM is still approached using the ‘spray and pray’ approach. Though rules of probability dictate that if enough people see your message then some are likely to bite, this certainly isn’t the way to get the most value from social media.
The Infancy of Social Media
Since the birth of social media, companies have been frantically trying to build their ‘communities’. They’ve focused on getting as many followers as possible. Many now have the capacity to reach thousands of targeted prospects at the touch of a button.
The trouble is; each of these ‘followers’ is an individual who has unique interests and behaviour patterns. Applying the ‘spray and pray’ mentality is an ineffective use of these valuable connections.
Marketing has repeatedly proven that a personalised approach delivers much better results. Irrelevant messages will just annoy prospects. A targeted, personalised message is far more likely to make them want to engage.
The Birth of Social CRM
So why don’t companies apply this to social media?
Though companies have been slow to figure out ways to use Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for customised social CRM, it is slowly starting to happen.
2012 should be a really interesting year if these developments continue. The companies who get the most from social media will be the ones that manage to engage with individuals and use the mine of information at their fingertips.
Last week I was talking about focusing on quality over quantity in social media. This is also the underlying principle on which social CRM relies. If companies recognise that social media is about connections between individuals, and find an effective way to build these connections, they’re the ones who will see the real ROI from social media.
Forget about how many followers you have. Focus on engaging individuals and you will unlock the full potential of social media for your business.
Have you noticed anything different about your Facebook news feed?
If you haven’t already, you will soon.
Facebook are beginning to introduce their ‘featured’ stories to user’s feeds from January 2012 onwards.
The arrangement works by allowing companies to pay Facebook to have their ‘stories’ show up in a wider array of user’s news feeds.
Facebook is determined that this will not have a negative impact on the overall user experience it has worked so hard to achieve. They seem confident that by severely limiting the frequency of these featured stories, the user experience will remain unchanged.
To begin with they are adamant that users won’t see more than one featured listing each day.
Why Have Them At All?
Many have questioned the thinking behind these changes. Facebook was working fine as it was. It has over 800 million users and is one of the most popular websites on the internet. ‘If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it’, right?
Well, with 500 million daily users, the potential for revenue is astronomical. It was only ever a matter of time before Facebook began cashing in on its loyal user base.
So Why Now?
Facebook’s IPO (Initial Public Offering) is expected to come in May. With shares likely to be made available to the public in just a few short months, Facebook are clearly trying to make sure share prices are at a premium at the IPO.
Will It Affect User Experience?
The idea behind these Facebook’s featured news stories is that you only see stories promoted by companies you or your friends have ‘liked’. This, coupled with Facebook’s commitment to only expose users to one story per day will mean that initially; the impact of these stories will be negligible.
The problems will start when these stories inevitably start increasing in frequency. If Facebook can double its revenue by showing 2 stories each day, it’s only a matter of time until they do so.
What’s the ROI of Social Media in South Wales?
This time last year, 174 CMOs participated in a survey. The results suggested that companies were rapidly moving closer to being able to accurately measure the ROI of social media.
A year down the line we are no better off.
‘Likes’, followers, mentions and visitors are all companies have to measure the effectiveness of their social media campaigns. Though these figures are useful indicators, they don’t get anywhere near measuring the real value of social media.
Where’s the Value?
Social media is about relationships.
When you think about it this way, measuring its value is a bit like trying to measure the ROI of a business networking event. Is the most successful person the one with the most business cards at the end of the event? Probably not.
A large company could have 10,000 followers on Twitter, but an SME using Twitter to effectively leverage an engaged community could see far more benefits.
The Real Value is Often Hidden
The true value of social media will never be measured by metrics or diagnostics. It relies on human relationships – the benefits of which could present themselves in many different ways, at any time. Though they may be a direct result of your connection through social media, they may appear completely out of the blue.
Just a single Tweet could cement your name in a prospects mind. At the time they might not engage with the Tweet; but when they need you, or meet someone else who does, they are far more likely to contact you directly – all because of that single Tweet.
Brand awareness is another great example. Every Tweet and status update will make an impression on all those that see it. If it’s done frequently enough, and in a positive way, the overall impression this has on a prospective customer can be huge. The chances are, when they need the product you sell, they will come straight to you.
These are both perfect examples where, despite delivering great value, the true ROI of social media will never be accurately measured.
Forget About Measuring Value
To get the most value from social media you need to forget about measurability, metrics and ROI. Focus on using it in a way that will positively impact your business. It’s one of the most powerful networking and marketing tools we have at our disposal, don’t limit it with old fashioned thinking.
Get out there. Engage with your community. Help people.
Do these things and I promise you, you will see the benefits.
Until Next Time,
ABBII
The Facts About LinkedIn – Are They Important?
LinkedIn have just released their most recent user statistics.
The headlines are:
A Battle of the Sexes?
These recent statistics state that nearly 58% of LinkedIn users are male. Though this may not seem like much, when you consider that Twitter and Facebook are used by far more women than men, this statistic does stand out.
We could debate the reasons behind these figures. We could look carefully into stereotypes and make generalisations about how men and women differ in their use of the internet. Though I expect there will be plenty of articles on the internet doing this, I’d prefer to concentrate on a much more important question.
‘Should This Change the Way You Use Social Media?’
Why do you use social media?
Do you use it to engage with an online community of followers? Do you use it to make targeted, relevant connections?
If the answer is ‘YES’, you are using it in exactly the right way.
Social media isn’t about generalisations, stereotypes or the mass targeting of demographic groups.
It’s about connections between individuals.
Would you stop going to a business networking event if there were 12 men and 8 women at the last meeting? Of course not!
Are They Important?
Unfortunately when figures like these are released, marketers tend to give them more importance than they deserve. A social media strategy shouldn’t be built around generalisations and averages, if a social media channel allows you to engage with people in a useful and meaningful way, that’s its value right there!
Don’t get sucked in by these facts about LinkedIn. Whether you are a freelancer or SME, keep using social media to engage with and enrich your community. Do this and that community will reward you with value, support and opportunities. If that community has a few more women than men (or vice versa)…who cares?!
Leveraging Your Old Networks with Social Media
Why do we let old connections fade?
Throughout our personal and professional lives we build thousands of relationships. Why do we only ever maintain a fraction of these at any one time?
Maybe it’s because we always feel like we always need to be moving forward? Old contacts would only hold us back, wouldn’t they?
Think about it another way: what if your old connections yielded new business, new introductions, renewed friendships?
Ignoring them would hold us back, wouldn’t it?
Rediscover Your Old Networks
The internet and social media puts you in a great position to reconnect with old contacts.
All of us have people that we once worked with, studied with or knew socially. Mostly it’s simply a case of, ‘out of sight, out of mind’.
These valuable connections easily fade away.
To begin reconnecting with the valuable connections of your past, you need to spend some time thinking about who you’ve not spoken to recently. Who do you wish you kept in touch with? Who was in a similar line of work to you? Any idea what they are doing now?
One of the major advantages of social media is that you are able to research a person before you make contact with them. Once you’ve found them, it should quickly become clear whether they are worth reconnecting with.
When you approach a stranger, whether it’s through social media, email or a phone call, you’ve got to work hard to build a relationship from scratch. When you reconnect with an old contact, most of the hard work is already done. If they remember you, they are likely to want to help you in any way they can. They’re the ideal connection!
The Rewards of Reconnecting
Though building a new relationship is rewarding in itself, reconnecting with people you used to like and respect can be extremely rewarding on a personal level. Social media provides the perfect platform for reconnecting with these old acquaintances. In many cases, this initial contact will quickly lead to face to face meetings, recommendations, and sometimes even new business.
When you are building connections for business it’s important to exploit every single avenue. Reconnecting with old contacts is not only one of the easiest avenues; it’s also one of the most rewarding.
Don’t be trapped by thinking that engaging with old connections is a step backwards. In so many cases, these connections can be highly beneficial, both personally and professionally.
Until Next Time,
ABBII