Why social media is the new networking
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by Alan
Rutherford
Social media has been through birthing pains and now stands
alone as a proven route for companies of all sizes.
Recent surveys have shown the majority of respondents citing
lead generation as their top priority for 2011 as the UK economy
comes out of recession.
Whichever camp you sit in with regard to the impact of social
media in business, there is no doubt that you will be ill-advised
to ignore it.
Social media is maturing rapidly and evolving even faster. As it
starts its journey away from the desktop towards the growing
plethora of mobile devices, never before has there been such an
opportunity to gain customers.
But using social media as a lead generation channel takes more
than a simple series of social interactions. To ensure that it
delivers against business objectives, it needs support,
organisation, education and a rock-solid strategy.
Once you've got that in place, you can concentrate on working
within socially-enabled business or corporate communities.
Customers don't like their social spaces gatecrashed so a light
touch is required. So how do we get to the crux of sales lead
generation via the social networks?
Creating scattered and unrelated pages across a range of social
sites is unlikely to attract significant followers overnight.
There's no point in being on Facebook just because everybody else
is.
Gaining a following via social media takes time and effort. But
the cost in time can deliver a significant reduction in the
out-of-pocket expense of generating a sales lead.
The last two years have seen proven results emerging, at a much
lower cost (as much as a 60 per cent) than traditional models, be
that advertising, events, mail or cold calling.
Businesses that have adopted social media early now have the
advantage of taking their strategy to the next level. We are seeing
the creation of a mobile information and interaction platform,
supported by integrated marketing and sales activities, with
resources in place to respond to questions and feedback instantly
via social touchpoints.
All the mainstream social networks now have mobile versions and
usage is growing all the time, as we use our devices to stay online
and in touch away from the office and out of working hours. Many
analysts predict mobile internet access will overtake desktop
internet access by 2015.
This social media and mobile convergence is opening up a new
communication channel. Rather than excluding or losing the
traditional ones, you'll soon find that your next generation
customer will be more easily reached and supported by investing in
building your social media presence.
- Alan Rutherford is former CEO of Digitas Global and
ex-head of media at Unilever. He lives in Rochester.
Wednesday, February 16 2011
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