It’s now pretty standard for most consumer brands to have an official Twitter and Facebook account up and running. At the very least, every company should have an account on the two platforms as strategy is slowly put into place. But I think, on some level, these accounts are gathering dust or not working to their full potential when they could be out having and sparking conversations across the web today.
Why is that? I think that fundamentally, it’s still not understood what social media can do from a business development or sales perspective. And so, people tend to put less weight into social media channels as a real marketing conduit.
Here’s a quick example of how I think Social Media needs to be framed for consumer companies:
Imagine that you are a marketing director for a large fashion retail brand, let’s say Express. Then imagine that you have just stumbled on a group of girls in the mall who are talking about the new styles at Express and the other stores where they typically find the coolest and newest clothes. Would you want to start a conversation with those girls? Would you want to find out what they liked and didn’t like? And most importantly, wouldn’t you offer them an incentive to come into Express and buy a couple items?
This is exactly what Social Media can help you do. From a business development perspective, you can find consumers talking about your brand, and offer them incentives to check out your online store or get discounts on new purchases. You can keep the conversation going by allowing them to become fans of your pages, and you can continue to incentivize them through additional discounts. It’s more immediate and gratifying than mailers, and it allows you to really understand your customer.
Now you can approach that group of girls or guys in the mall and hundreds of groups just like theirs to drive traffic into your stores, both online and off.