Ghana, like many other African countries, is gradually appreciating the need
for social media integration in corporate business. Few years ago, most brands
saw it as a waste of time and money investing in social media advertising and
campaigns but in recent times the trend has changed tremendously.
Today, there are award events for corporate organisations that
use social media most effectively. The telecommunication industry has really
blazed the trail on social media use. Political parties, the Media and other
organisations are doing great as well.
Blogging Ghana, an organisation of Ghanaian bloggers organised
their annual event ‘blogcamp’. The event was under the theme ‘The new phase of
social media’ and this blogpost is my reflection and assertion on maximizing social
media by corporate brands.
I hope this post will
serve as good motivation and guide to using social media for your brand.
COMPETITION ON SOCIAL MEDIA
The competition for attention on social media is soo intense the audiences become very
fragmented. Brands do not only compete amongst themselves but against
producers, distributers and consumers.
Yes, Consumers. This is because they can produce their own
contents and it may be better than your brand. No wonder a consumer who posts
good contents on their facebook or twitter page could have more and quality
followers than an old brand.
Also because they can talk about your product and might do
it better than u do. Be it a good or bad opinion.
WHAT DISTINGUISHES
SOCIAL MEDIA FROM TRADITIONAL ADVERTISING MEDIA ?
When advertising in social media, ads should not only talk
about the product but the whole brand. Therefore on social media u consider
your brand values not product values. Consumers interact with the brand
not the product hence the brand image directly affects the product or service
being promoted.
RUNNING A GOOD SOCIAL MEDIA PAGE
Opening a Social Media page is not enough - A dormant
page is as good as an empty shop. As long as no activity is going-on on the
page, consumers begin to form negative perceptions about the brand. A dormant
page may make consumers conclude that the brand is either unserious or do not
have any good products worth promoting.
Promote consistent messages - What you are
advertising on the traditional media should be in sync with social media. A
brand’s ads on traditional media should be similar if not same as on social
media. If you are promoting a new function of your product or service on
traditional media you do same on social media with a digital
twist.
Listen to their needs, wants and interest - The
beauty of social media is that it allows for interactivity and prompt feedback.
On social media, communication is not a 1 way flow as is the case of the
traditional media. As a brand is promoting their product, service or idea,
consumers in turn analyze and comment on their forecast and experience
about/with the brand.
Stay interactive -
Real time response is the name of the game in social media. Prompt response
reassures consumers that you take them seriously. Your office may not run 24/7
but your social media office should run 24/7. Good thing is, social media
management can be done from anywhere ie.
2 administrators can be put on a shift to monitor and respond to post at
any time.
Schedule posts where necessary.
Social media should not talk to people
but talks with People
TIPS TO NOTE
Strive to fulfill the expectation of your audience
Provide relevant information for you people
Touching their emotions makes the difference
Put people’s stories first
Get people to love your product
HOW CONSUMERS BEHAVE TOWARDS BOTH PLATFORMS
Show me
TRADITIONAL
MARKETING
Sell
to me
Help me
SOCIAL
MEDIA MARKETING
Entertain
me
NOTE: Add value to the audience before they do it
for your brand
QUESTIONS TO ASK WHEN DOING SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNES
1. Am i thinking about
the people first?
2. Am i connecting those
people’s stories to my brand in a relevant way?
3. Am i creating
compelling content that impact human change
SOCIAL MEDIA IS ALREADY TOO BIG TO IGNORE !
