Today’s post was written by Sarah Sturtevant and was originally published on her blog, Marketing Masala. It is reprinted here with permission. Enjoy!
This is the second of my two-part series (the first is available here) highlighting the social media insights of Joakim Vars Nilsen, Creative Advisor at MediaFront, in Oslo, Norway. In his presentation below he shares how companies can be more effectively engaged with their customers 365 days a year by building their “social capital”, and ultimately, their revenues.
We are all customers. Whether you purchase consumer goods for yourself or B2B products for your company, what if every brand you interacted with as a customer tried to “engage you in conversation on Twitter, Facebook” or other social media sites?
Joakim Vars Nilsen’s poses this question in his “Walk the Talk” presentation before elaborating on why and how effective brand marketing has shifted beyond building “passive awareness”. That traditional passive awareness strategy typically involved flogging the same marketing message to customers a few times a year.
Companies, he suggests, would be better served if they combined traditional marketing methods with popular social marketing channels in order to create more valuable connections with their prospective customers 365 days a year.
The key for companies is to avoid using social media exclusively as just another platform to sell their products or self-promote. Joakim says that companies that use social media effectively and succeed in building a loyal following, contribute regularly to online conversations by sharing ideas about how customers can get more out of the products and services they own.
“It’s not what the product does that matters most to us, it is how we socialize around it that matters,” he says.
So brands need to create, find and actively participate in trusted online communities with “values that your brand/product/service generally shares.”
Social Media Marketing Takes Commitment
Within those trusted communities brands need to limit self-promotion and offer valuable insight. By doing this, brands can build awareness while remaining a sought-after and welcome part of those communities. This helpful and transparent attitude ultimately builds loyal followers who are more likely to convert into customers over time.
Brands that offer people ways to build positive relationships with them by actively listening to their ideas or constructive criticisms and offering valuable feedback, gain both “social capital”, and economic capital in return. These engaged customers, managed wisely, can become fans or brand advocates, thus turning into your company’s most effective marketing department.
Like word of mouth on steroids, loyal customers willingly share their positive experiences with your products and services with other potential customers in their online communities.
Joakim quotes Hugh MacLeod who said:
“The most important word on the internet is not search. The most important word on the internet is share. Sharing is the driver.”
Studies show that the vast majority of your customers now trust the opinions of other users online within their communities – even people they have never met, over advertising messages. So it is vital that brands participate in these online conversations around their products and focus on adding value to their customers’ experiences with their companies.
Joakim emphasizes, however, that the implementation and maintenance of any social media strategy takes commitment and work.
“Remember that we must campaign and commit. This mindset requires resources because you need to manage your community engagement and you need to keep the momentum by continuously adding value.”
Joakim offers “8 Steps to Create Positive ROI on Your Marketing Efforts” in his presentation. I highly recommend these steps to any company considering social media as a way to strengthen their brand marketing efforts.
Editor’s Note: Sarah Sturtevant is the President and Owner of Integrated Website Solutions Inc. If you liked this post, go check out her blog or follow her on Twitter!
Tags: marketing tips, social media