The Social Networking Boom: Make it Work for You
Ninety-five percent of business decision makers now use social media for business, according to a recent study by Forrester Research. And 78 percent of U.S. households are now on Facebook, reports the Consumer Internet Barometer.
The Social Boom
“These statistics don’t surprise me,” says Ivy Hastings, interactive marketing strategist with Heinrich interactive marketing partner Fusionbox. “Social media is one of the fastest, easiest ways to reach an audience, and you can talk to people free.
“It doesn’t make sense for every situation,” she adds, “and you don’t want to go in without a goal or a strategy. But use social media. Use it to build trust and relationships. Use it to get feedback about your products and services. It’s true one-to-one marketing.”
In case you didn’t catch it, "Use it to build trust and relationships” is an operative phrase in terms of formulating your marketing strategy with social media.
“Don’t start out trying to sell to people on Twitter and Facebook,” says Heinrich Senior Vice President Sandi McCann. “Start by building valuable content that tells your brand story, and tell your social media followers about that content. After you’ve earned their trust, then you can sell to them sometimes.“
She says you might be surprised how deep the social networking boom runs — i.e., the number of industries getting on board. “Financial services marketing executives are using Twitter and Facebook not only for direct response campaigns, but also to build community with customers, do product research, get the word out about innovative new product launches and build brand trust.” One example: Mashable.com recently reported on the Citi Credit Cards Make a Difference, One Friend at a Time campaign that donates $50 to the charity of the user’s choice for every approved credit card application by friends they refer through Facebook.
Get tips on adding social media into your multichannel marketing toolbox in our article Anatomy of an Integrated Multichannel Marketing Campaign.