1. Get accounts!! Sign up for all of the major social media platforms and create colorful, informative, user-friendly, accurate profiles that positively represent your brand/organization to customers, potential clients, and even competitors! Be sure to incorporate these pages into your website/email to provide customers with a variety of ways to follow you. Also, connect all of your accounts for easier access, management, and data analysis.
2. Create a blog that incorporates all aspects of your business and features your social media profile links. A blog allows customers to see what's happening with your business/organization and to feel in the know. Because a blog can mention events within the company, plans for new products, exciting news, or even serious situations, it gives the business more a personal touch and helps customers better relate to it.
3. Once you figure out where the majority of your audience comes from/what platform they use most often, focus your energy there and be creative! Keep up to date with current trends, hire someone that is a professional social media manager in order to make sure your profiles are professional and well-maintained, and insist on data analysis to determine the effectiveness of your social media strategy.
Some specific examples of ways that company can utilize these tools:
1. Create Facebook Events and invite customers, Offer discounts or coupons for followers or those that "like" your brand.
2. Engage in dialogue with your followers on Twitter by asking questions from your customers about suggestions, answer questions they have, thank ones that are current customers, and handle any complaints.
3. Use platforms such as EventBrite to create large-scale events (both internal and external).
One well-known and successful organization that is effectively using social media communication tools would be Starbucks. They have always been pioneers, in several different aspects, but especially when it comes to social media. Advertising research firm PhaseOne tagged Starbucks as the most socially engaged company this year! (More Info) So what is it that makes them so effective? Well, check out how they use the three major social media platforms to their advantage.
1) Starbucks on twitter - Starbucks engages with customers on twitter, answering questions, retweets, what people are saying about the brand and creates an open communication channel to speak with the public.
2) Starbucks on Facebook – Starbucks uploads content to their Facebook page such as: Videos, blog posts, photos. The company also invites people to events. Fans have a place to open discussions and comment as many of them do.
3) Starbucks on YouTube -Over 4800 people subscribe to Starbucks YouTube Channel. They upload videos of commercials as well as informational videos explaining the origins of the different coffee blends and some of their charity work videos. They also upload videos showing their history thus enabling people to relate more to the brand. This video showing the beginnings of Starbucks received over 11, 800 views:
Besides these popular platforms, Starbucks has created and effectively uses their own approaches to social media:
4) My Starbucks Idea – Starbucks’ own version of a social network where customers are asked to share their ideas on anything related to Starbucks. The site gives users the ability to see what others are suggesting, vote on ideas and check out the results. This site is a brilliant and important aspect of Starbucks social media strategy. Users who are part of this network feel that they have some role in the decision making process of the company and it makes them feel a part of it.
5) Starbucks Blog entitled “Ideas in Action” - This blog is written by various Starbucks employees and talks about what Starbucks is doing with the ideas given by users on the My Starbucks Idea site. The blog keeps customers in the loop and in the know regarding what’s happening with their ideas and increases their sense of loyalty to the brand.
I think that all of this combined is what makes Starbucks truly deserving of that title, Most Socially Engaged Brand! They do a wonderful job of letting their customers know that they really do care and value their opinion and their business!
Source: http://thenextweb.com/2010/01/11/starbucks-formula-social-media-success/
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