It's beginning to dawn on some business owners that they might need to 'go on to Facebook and Twitter' and they'll probably get a part time girl to do it once a week, just to see what extra business comes in...
Yes, this sorry scenario is likely being played out in offices up and down the land as MDs get to grips with trying to understand where the ROI is coming from with social media. Yes, they've seen their competitors launching a lively, new website design with shiny new 'Share' and 'Like' buttons and a Home page blog, and they've decided it's time to have a go.
Problem is of course, the first rule of social media is that it is not a separate entity and needs to be completely integrated into a company's inbound marketing strategies before beginning to see tangible results emerge. Measuring the successful outcomes of social media is actually straightforward! As with present online marketing, it involves traffic, leads and customers. The monitoring of the number of followers and fans to tracking prequalified, niche leads and customer conversions is a long term process whilst trust and loyalty are slowly being built.
The second rule of social media is that it is an immersive activity and needs to be constantly tended. SMEs will simply not have the very necessary time or resources to commit and therefore, outsourcing to your website design and marketing agency - who should be sufficiently skilled and experienced to take on an entire integrated approach to your overall brand identity positioning is the ideal solution.
Audience engagement is evaluated by observing the channels they choose to reach you! The options range from email, blog comment, Twitter, newsletter feedback, etc. The importance of producing frequent, fresh written content for blogging to a niche audience is vital for link building and developing as a specific niche thought-leader resource. Both Facebook and Twitter have actually increased the necessity by enabling the 'retweet' and the 'like'.
The b2b constituency should not be overlooked, and a networking presence should be established on LinkedIn, a key site for reaching out to specific business contacts.
Reaching out has become more location-based and the mobile internet is blazing a trail in fast, real-time interaction. Together, social media networks and rapid response mobile messaging are developing a time-and-location context where instant service delivery of product, info and consumer interactivity can lead to site conversion opportunities.