In the network we find many opinions for or against the use of social networks by companies. The first “utility”, the objectives of online communication and 2.0 and all these concepts that generate these tools both hated and flattered.
However, many professionals do not know very well what they can do with this data … and if they decide to have an activity on the Web 2.0, they ask: What social network to use? Do networks really have a power of customer attraction? Can they increase sales, number of partners, reputation? A good manager will always ask about how these increases can be measured in a tangible way. However, at day-to-day level, Community Managers continue to look for concrete actions to succeed their customers in the networks. Even in the courses of community management , the experts give some guidelines, but few specific solutions. The main reason is that if each company is a world, then each network is a city and each post a house …
Some questions that I heard in the mouth of many Community Managers is precisely How can a company succeed on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin or Pinterest? How to dynamize a community so that it contributes a real and tangible value to the company that invests in this channel of communication?
If we look at the current panorama of the most popular social networks, we can point out the following data: In first position we find Facebook, which reached 1000 million users in October 2012, Twitter with 500 million in July 2012 and LinkedIn recently Reach 200 million users. We must take these data very carefully as the nature of each network and the purpose of each action are factors that influence the success of the activities more than the general number of users. Today, good communication has to be very personalized and as intrusive as possible. Objective very easily attainable in Internet and even more in social networks.
The main reasons that companies have to be in these social networks are:
- Have visibility
- They think it does not cost much
- Access your stakeholders 2.0
- Study these groups
In this enumeration, these points are not all so clear and simple. Many companies want to have “conversations” 2.0 with their stakeholder to know them, however do not know how to analyze these data and make a tangible benefit. That has a cost that is not limited to opening a profile and posting and advertising, but goes beyond investing time in research, trying applications, talking, creating entertainment or cause activities, etc. Companies are sometimes afraid of the power of response that exists intrinsically in all social networks, but it is a risk with it that must be dealt with in order not to lose, on the other hand, all the opportunities that social networks can offer. Whatever it is, in the reality of SMEs and large companies,
To be successful in social networks, there is simply a return to the basics of any communication, whether commercial, informational or personal, and these basic principles are articulated in two axes: Empathy and sharing. These two axes have to be at the center of all the activities that are performed on these platforms.
The first step is to carry out studies of what people do in social networks and get tools customized for each client and company profiles. In general, some formulas that have demonstrated its operation are: the humor, the contests, the information that has value, as well as the innovations and novelties. These formulas adapted to the profiles and clients and integrated to its strategy of general and online communication will favor the actions of participation and of sharing of the users, since we are looking for to have fun and to win something.
We are all a bit self-centered and even more so in social networks, where we put a profile photo where we see well, or highlight a feature of our character that we like. Where we publish cool videos, where we put comments that make us funny, etc. In short we create a showcase where we try to attract attention and where we like to receive notifications of friendship request, messages, retuits, mentions, comments or other “I like”.
Knowing that, the community manager has to work in these aspects, providing for example, a prize through a contest that well raised, can become very viral, not so much for the prize itself, but also for how entertaining they are The conditions of participation, for example.
Always keep in mind the idea of giving added value to followers too. If Linkedin offers networking , and networks like Meetic or eDarling can find similar people, a network as general and at the same time as powerful as Facebook can offer information segmented according to the interests and hobbies of users. A social network like Pinterest also feeds on the ego of its users, not so much as protagonists, but as Cool Hunters . If you “paint” the things they like, they repaint you and give you “like” and more users follow you, you are doing an indirect personal branding that you can even focus on the products and services of client companies.