To Tweet or not to Tweet? - 22-Dec-09
‘It will bring about the greatest social revolution since the invention of Gutenberg’s printing press.’ That was the bold claim made by an industry expert at a recent seminar attended by Varega and other businesses, many of which were new to the concept of social networking. Indeed, the expert explained how some companies no longer rely on traditional marketing communications tools, such as print advertising or PR. They rely solely on their ‘social networks’ to generate business. If this is the case, how should less experienced companies participate in the revolution ?
There are three main areas of social networking which may be of interest to businesses: the social and file-sharing websites; blogs; and Twitter.
YouTube and Facebook are the communication media of choice for a young generation, keen to exchange chat, photos and boy/girlfriends. However, these websites and their users have matured in recent years. Like-minded enthusiasts can form groups and families can stay in touch.
Unsurprisingly, savvy marketers saw an opportunity and sophisticated product placement is one of their goals: the trick is to get everyone talking spontaneously about a product, phenomenon or pop star ( Susan Boyle ? ) – and within seconds awareness and interest can be been generated, leading to sales..
While viral marketing of this type is now standard strategy for professional agencies, the beauty of the internet now is that even an individual or small company can succeed in creating a blaze of publicity, and without spending the budget of a multinational.
Another often mentioned website is LinkedIn. Operating primarily at a business level, it has become the default site for professional and business people keen to broaden their network of contacts, or revisit old ones. Sub-groups on the site, such as the Institute of Directors, serve to reinforce the serious image. Our own experience of LinkedIn is positive and, although online discretion and confidentiality cannot be guaranteed, we are comfortable in recommending it.
Blogging is a much considered cyber activity. Setting up a website-linked blog is certainly a sensible method of improving your SEO ( Search Engine Optimisation ) and generating increased web traffic. But most interestingly it allows a platform to be created from where you can express your professional views and opinions.
The main objective here is to become a respected commentator in your field of expertise, if you are not one already. The key to is to produce a regular blog, which is ‘content-rich’ ( = relevant and interesting ), and which avoids referring back to your website. We suspect that this harder than it sounds, and something that takes a lot of practice.
Twitter has to be the most curious of all the social media. Comprising no more than 140 characters, an electronic message is sent to a group of ‘followers’. To the sceptics, it is hard to understand how the sheer banality of some of these messages ( e.g. ‘I’ve just got on the train’) can be more than just an irritation. Anecdotally, however, we understand that genuinely interesting and valuable information is exchanged, including – most importantly for a business - new contacts. Like blogging, it is clear that ‘tweeting’ is most effective when you actually have something of relevance to say.
In conclusion, the challenge for the sceptics of social networking is threefold: firstly, to be persuaded to participate in a game in which they have no experience; secondly, to learn the rules of the game; and thirdly, to learn how to exploit the game for commercial gain.
For many sceptical companies, including ours, the choice is stark: join the revolution or risk ignoring it.
Source: Varega Ltd - info@varega.eu
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