Marketing WilesUsing Wiles to Market Your Brand

All of us have heard of Myspace, Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin along with hundreds of other social networking sites (SNS), but do many companies use them correctly to market their brand? Let me re-phrase that, SHOULD companies be using these SNS to market their brand?  The answer to most businesses is “YES”, and rightfully so.  With the millions of people utilizing social media, managers should evaluate and utilize as many SNS as possible, as long as it fits their business model and reaches their target market.

While using SNS can definitely help your business and your brand, I would advise most companies to look at them very closely before getting entrenched.  Every business should evaluate if SNS are just a lot of fluff or something of real value they can use as a competitive advantage and offer their customers.

Here are some questions companies should ask before engaging into the social media world:

1)  Is a large number of my market using these social networking sites?

If the majority of your target market are baby boomers, then expanding and expending your resources into social media (much loved by the younger generation) may not be the answer.  Make sure your market is already saturating the SNS that you are evaluating so you can guarantee positive results.

2)  Can we offer valuable content to add flair to our pages?

As we have seen with the social sites of so many Gen Y-ers, there is a lot of useless content posted on many SNS (i.e. “John is feeding the cat”,  “ I love red Skittles”, “How much wood could a woodchuck cut, if a woodchuck…”)  You get the point.  If you are going to utilize the micro blog or any other piece of a SNS, then make sure you have useful, interesting things to share.  For instance, showcase a new blog about your product, give a link to a good review from a third party, make an announcement of a special or discount.  If you don’t typically have news or new things to talk about in your business then you will more than likely not be utilizing your SNS to its full capacity.  A SNS is used in real time to constantly keep people in the know.

3)  WILL THIS LEAD THEM BACK TO OUR WEBSITE?!?

This is by far, by FAR, the most important question to ask when evaluating SNS.  First, I hope that before you are considering entering the social media world, you have already considered the wide-web world.  If you do not already have a stationary website for your business then STOP right now.  You do not need to be involved in SNS.  I have seen a number of businesses and artists who have set up their web presence soley using Myspace and the like.  I am not saying that these sites can’t be used by small businesses or artists, but let’s face it, how confident would you be in a business if when you asked for their website they gave you their Myspace page instead of a professionally tailored website?  It is the difference between a person wearing a suit and one wearing a Hawaiian shirt.  I mean, I am all for casual Friday, but that is not the way to sell your brand.  You should NOT be entering the social media world without having a stationary place to send your potential “fans”, “followers”, or “friends”.

If that wasn’t enough reason to start with a stationary website, here is another… Social media is a forever changing animal.  One social site is top notch one day (Myspace), the next day it is another (Facebook).  Then the next, some site out of left field comes in and blows them all away (Twitter).  The one thing you can count on is YOUR WEBSITE!  And why not? It is perfectly tailored to your business model and set up to appeal to the niche you are attracting.  Your business website is the ideal environment for all your potential customers to visit, view, and peruse your amazing product information and (oh so conveniently) buy your product or service!

And another… A website is controlled by you, while SNS are controlled by “them.”  Say your target market has constantly changing needs or your company changes focus.   You don’t have to worry about all the effort you put into developing and customizing your SNS because you spent most of your time perfecting your business website.  With the control, you have the ability to innovate and customize your website to your customer’s needs, not the needs of whomever the SNS is appealing to.

4)  Is this SNS a passing fad?

Social media is a bright burn, but who is to say it will remain hot for years to come? (And another reason you should rely your marketing most heavily on your business website).  As a business, you do not want to waste time and resources on something that will be a shining star for just a year or two.  Select the SNS that you will use, and do it wisely.  Does it continue to innovate and keep up with what the ever-changing market wants?  Or does it seem to remain stagnant?

5)  Does this SNS set us and our brand apart as innovators or are we just following the crowd?

With anything, those who get on board early have the chance to reap the most success, while latecomers just seem to follow the crowd blindly.  The same goes with SNS.  Nowadays, every business is getting their own Facebook page.  As I have stated before, setting up your own Facebook page isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but this particular SNS has become so saturated that the original positive effect it had has been numbed.  Businesses should instead allocate resources to opportunities that could mark them as innovators rather than duplicators.

Additionally, try to avoid going overboard and having a web presence with every SNS in existence.  Not only will it be torture to your marketing “peon” in charge of updating all the SNS, but it will also be overkill to your customers.  If you really know your market, you know what SNS is their preference and most used by them.  Besides, who likes looking at a 40+ icons on a website that links to 40+ different SNS?

SNS can do so much for your business and help in so many ways reach your target market, but only if they are used and strategized correctly.  Make sure when selecting a SNS you have the capability to reach you market and offer them valuable content that will be interesting and useful.  SNS are a compliment, not a substitute to your business website.  Make sure your SNS directs them back to your website so you can make the sale on your product or service.  All-in-all, embarking in social media is a great way to cheaply and quickly share your brand and business, but only if done smartly and effectively.

Tags: social media, social network, website