Walt Denny Inc. Blog

How Social Media Can Strengthen your Marketing Strategy

 

Social media is a fresh, dynamic way to communicate directly with prospects and customers, increase your business’ visibility and listen to what is being said about your company.  However, social media by itself cannot substitute for a marketing or public relations strategy, control customer dialogue or guarantee sales.  Before you implement a social media program, evaluate your business goals to determine if social media engagement is for you.

According to a Nielsen report, time spent on social media sites increased by 82% from 2008 to 2009.  A Facebook Fan Page or a Twitter account is a great way to reach and engage the networks’ massive audiences.  Use a social network to announce company happenings, promotions and product innovations.  Leverage social sites like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Bebo, etc. to enhance your current marketing mix.

According to recent research, 20% of tweets and 70% of blogs mention brands or product names.   Social media acts as a modern, global public forum where products and brands are openly being discussed, both positively and negatively.  Take advantage of the public discussions about your business’ products or services to hone your marketing message.  Discover brand evangelists and harness social networking sites to build a following and participate in the discussion.

Put Your Business’ Social Skills to the Test: How to Measure Social Media Marketing Efforts

According to a Forrester report, over 80% of Americans use social networking websites each month.  Over 300,000 businesses have a Facebook presence and social media initiatives have delivered stellar results for small and large businesses alike.  With several metrics available to measure your social media effectiveness, be sure to set clear goals.  Consider metrics comparing sales, website traffic, social media mentions, brand awareness or other business goals.  

Some businesses have seen a dramatic increase in sales since participating in social networking sites.  Of the top 100 global brands, the most heavily and widely engaged in social media saw an increase in sales, according to Engagement db’s social media engagement report.   In the first half of 2009, Dell generated $3 million dollars directly via Twitter.  At the end of 2009, Dell reported to have doubled its Twitter based sales. 

Social media is not just for large companies.  Take Naked Pizza, a small pizza parlor in New Orleans, for example.  The pizzeria is equipped with a large, prominent sign encouraging people to follow the eatery on Twitter.  Naked pizza also measures its social media success through sales.  On a record breaking day, over 68% of total sales and 85% of their new customers were from Twitter.