I recently ran into a reader of Western Grocer on a business trip to Toronto.   During the 5 hour flight, we discussed about social media, how it works  and how it has changed the landscape of marketing.  The conversation was quite insightful but one question came up that cause me to pause in thought… Does “every” business really need social media?

Social Graph – Mapping Out the Relationships

The term “social graph” is coined by scientists working in the social areas of graph theory. It has been described as “the global mapping of everybody and how they’re related” .  This term was first used in 2007 by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, specifically to describe the Facebook platform. Your social graph is a digital map of your personal identity, your primary Facebook friends and everything you share with them. That definition has since been expanded to include other platforms, such as Twitter, LinkedIn and even Google.  So, to be clear, you have many overlapping social graphs. This social data is of great interest to businesses that are trying to connect with you, and should be of equal interest to you for reaching your future customers.

The Facebook “Like” and “Share” Button

We’ve all seen this tiny “Like” or “Share” button on Facebook or websites and without a second thought, we click on it… just because… uh…. we like it or wish to share it with our friends.  Have you ever wondered what happens afterwards?  To explain a bit – sometime in the Spring of 2010, Facebook launched some drastic changes to its platform with the objective of integrating all of your social graphs—on Facebook, of course. On the techy side, this is achieved through the Facebook API , which is “a digital handshake that connects your Facebook identity, connections and content with Facebook pages and outside websites and blogs.”   When you click the “Like” or “Share” button, you’re instantly connected with everyone else who has “Liked” that site or “shared” that site with their friends. You have effectively joined a new community, and now you have the benefit of many new associations.

Imagine what would happen if your business were to incorporate that “Like” button in your online presence? The potential connections and association to your business would be unleashed!

To Tweet or Not To Tweet?

OK – so now our business or brand can get its ego fix from the Facebook “Like” button.  Where does Twitter fit into this?  The basic structure of Twitter consists of gaining followers and following those who interests you.  You tweet.  They tweet.  Big deal…so what?

The foundation of Twitter is based on real-time interaction.  If you are a business or brand with a twitter account, then you would, without a doubt, have had from time-to-time answer a question or address (god forbid) a complaint.  Therefore, besides using twitter to promote your business, it is also an extension of your customer service.

Customer service = twitter?  A recent survey published by InboxQ (and summarized in one of those cool infographics) supports this fact.   It reveals that besides catching up on the latest news, sharing links and photos, connecting with friends, people are asking questions to their followers.

What questions are being asked on twitter? The top 3 are 13% Product Recommendations & Advice; 12% Tech Support; 11% local suggestions.  Amongst the rest include 6% health; 4% food & Recipes; 2% Lifestyle Advice.

So who is asking these questions? The survey found that people with more followers are more likely to ask more questions. This would make sense as the more followers you have normally means the more engaged you are with your followers. In fact, 67% of the questions came from people with greater than 100 followers.  The survey also reveals that people with 100+ followers receive a greater percentage of getting their questions answered.

Interestingly as well, it has found that people with more followers are more likely to have their questions answered by a non-follower. Of all the questions tweeted, approximately 66% have some commercial intent.  So sometimes, non-followers who answer these questions are actually businesses.  41% of the questions are being answered by businesses and 59% of the people are open to receiving answers directly from a business.  80% of the respondents expressed that they would trust the answers from a business as much or more as an answer from their followers.

What does this translate to?  The survey found that nearly 60 percent of Twitter users said they would be more likely to follow a brand that answered them, and 64 percent said they would be more likely to make a purchase from that brand.

Can Social Media hurt my business or brand?

Successful deployment of social media marketing strategy is not only about having an online presence on Facebook or twitter; it is about engagement and reaction in a timely manner.  To ignore this could be detrimental to your business.  While people and fans express their support of your business and brand online in real-time, the real question is are you able to reciprocate as well? Management of your social media profiles should be integrated into each businesses and/or brand’s customer service department.  Take care not to stretch the resources of existing customer relations staff, but rather provide the tools, time and staff to manage your social media marketing.  Thoughtful and strategic integration into your customer service processes will ensure high customer satisfaction while engaging your fans of your business and brand efficiently and with immediacy.

Who should be on social media?

Back to the original question – does every business really need social media? While it makes sense for brands to be on social media.  Should it also make sense for businesses as well? Maybe some?  A social media presence makes sense for a chain or banner, which deals with consumers directly.  However, for a B2B business, such as a logistics provider, co-packer or distributor, having a social media presence could be more of a distraction and drain on its business resources instead.  But then, does the absence of a social media presence for these B2B businesses mean they don’t care about customer service?

Social Media Marketing is evolving and integrating into our businesses in ways yet to be realized.  Consumers are driving the demand for creation of tools to manage this form of marketing. The growth of social media users continues to expand exponentially.  So my questions for you to consider are: Do you know how many people “Like” your business or brand?  Are you answering those online questions about your business or brand?  Do you have the time and resources to manage your social media presence?

READ MORE »