You’ve heard about all the buzz coming from the long yellow horns (the Vuvuzela) of the fans in the South African soccer stadium last year, right? It definitely gets your attention and lets the fans show their appreciation for their team and the sport. Lively and engaging feedback that puts a spotlight on the fans, the venue, the sport, the team and the unmistakable voice of the “customer.” Word of mouth, you might say.
There is a huge buzz about social media and social media solutions for businesses and integrating all these new media strategies to engage and get in front of and at “eyeball level”, with your customers using Facebook‘s new updates, Google Plus, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube, to spread the word about YOU!
The “buzz” at the World Cup stadium is a great example and microcosm of Social Media Marketing. It is all about making contact, building relationships, establishing value, entertainment, credibility and trust. I won’t take the analogy much further, but you get the point. In World Cup Soccer, strangely, the game and rules can change– at the whim of the referee! In business these days, the referee is the customer and they are in control. It’s a competitive landscape and the voice of the consumer/customer has never been so applicable.
Today’s business owner must recognize that the rules have changed and businesses are moving online for their marketing efforts, because the customer is online 24/7. In the U.S. the average person spends a 1/4 of their online time on social media sites.
Savvy small businesses are getting online and making it easy and seamless for their customers to quickly obtain the information that they want, demand and, based on “social proof” from friends and trusted sources, are searching for using social media tools that are ready at hand on their laptops, desktop computers, and smart phones.
Did you know that at any given time, roughly 46% of people on social media sites are viewing those sites through a mobile device? Let’s assume you have determined that part of your target market is within that demographic—you’ll get measurable value (ROI) when you maximize the power of Social Media.
Gone are the easy days of just have a marketing strategy that used Twitter and Facebook − it’s now about being responsive with a measured and professional response, it’s about being there, easy to contact and not hidden behind some corporate curtain; and certainly not a robotic or “corporate speak” response! It’s about solving customer issues and responding in real time. The tools are now many and varied and tailored to your message and presenting you as transparent and dedicated. With all of your responsibilities running the business, paying the bills, ordering the product, and bringing sales, it is virtually impossible to also manage your social media marketing needs and strategy. That’s where I come in and can help your take your online marketing efforts to the next level!
Contact me at savvysocialmedia@gmail.com to integrate social media into your business today.