The question of whether social media is an effective marketing tool for business has been debated in the C-Suite since its arrival on scene in the early 2000′s. If you have ever explained the concept of a 140 character tweet or a Facebook “wall” to an executive unfamiliar with social media, you may have encountered tremendous resistance and understandably so! Despite the initial trepidation, many CMOs and CEOs have begun to embrace this up and coming method of creating meaningful relationships with their customers and increasing brand visibility.
But as with any aspect of a business, executives have been primarily concerned with the bottom line: what value can tweets and posts truly have on the earnings of a company. As a response to this concern, there are innumerable social media strategists and websites that claim to provide insight into social media’s ROI or Return on Investment. With one quick search, Google will provide you with over forty million sites outlining the importance of, and method to finding out what social media can bring to business.
There are many measures that have been developed to determine the effectiveness and reach of any given brand on social media but most leave out one critical piece of the puzzle missing: online relationship value.
Many businesses make the mistake of devaluing that relationships that can be created and nurtured through social media engagement.
They listen to all of those strategists and websites and push their own content, contests and communications through the channels as though they are going out into a vacuum, ignoring the community ecosystem that social media has become. But some companies have unlocked the key to using social media as a way to boost their brand in the eyes of their customers.
Take PlasmaCar for example: distributed by toy company PlaSmart Inc., the product is a ride on car that requires no batteries and is marketing as “kid powered!” The prime social market for a company like theirs is the vast network of Mom bloggers who review products and write about the joys and heartaches of raising children. By engaging with this particular community, PlasmaCar reaches potential customers, but even more importantly, creates meaningful engagement that inspires brand ambassadors and product super fans.
Taking something as simple as Twitter’s Follow Friday or #FF is a great example of how engaging with your community can enhance the experience of a customer, no matter what the field:
This chart shows evidence of the power of the #FF. The two other examples are from GreenSpace, an online game encouraging players to become more eco-conscious and the other MateCheck, an online dating verification site. By singling out these particular Twitter users and encouraging their own large group of followers to begin following and interacting with these users, both businesses have strengthened bonds that could lead to future brand ambassadors.
Have you had success using social media as a way to create brand ambassadors for your company?
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