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UK businesses are going social in 2011

30.03.11

Research indicates that a third of UK companies have now signed up to online networks. We all know about the big B2C companies such as Starbucks, Pringles and Adidas, who offer their audiences a strong presence on social media sites.  So what makes them so successful? Their use of Facebook fan page features to promote complimentary social media and advertising campaigns demonstrates a commitment to engage with their target audiences through proactive online interaction on popular social media channels.

Most recently, Adidas ran an exclusive Facebook contest where a fan could win an all-expenses-paid house party. What made this campaign so successful was that Adidas chose to work alongside MTV, a partner that echoed the Facebook user demographic, forming a perfect partnership. Adidas also promoted the contest on their fan page before and after the campaign. Once they had chosen the lucky winner, they used their page to share the fan’s blog posts, photos and videos from the party. This resulted in further fan engagement and interest.  Adidas and MTV used the power of social media after the event as a follow up tool, which offered added value to fans. Followers could see how the campaign played out, start to finish.

Fan pages such as these are actively engaging with companies’ target demographic. These pages have creative content, two-way communication, active discussion boards, images and videos. Facebook pages present an exciting platform for brands to directly engage with their existing and past customers and generate new ones. Case studies indicate that the more time you invest in your brand’s Facebook page, the better response you’ll get.

So you may be thinking, how does a Facebook page relate to my business? Every day we are asked the question, ‘Isn’t Facebook for friends and big consumer brands, how can I use social media in a B2B environment?’ Every organisation, no matter what sector is selling an idea. It might be associated with a product or less tangible like: ‘you should invest in our company’, ‘we need your donations’, ‘we're a great place to work or volunteer’, or ‘we promise to take care of the planet and be good corporate citizens’. These are ideas that require social interaction and social media seems the perfect platform to facilitate it.

Deloitte, one of the big 4 consultancies, are a well known B2B player on Facebook. Deloitte annually recruit over 1000 new people. They know that in their industry recruitment is key, as human resources are their main asset, and they use Social Media to recruit as well as retain employees. Through a heavy presence on Facebook they are able to connect their employees together, and identify students from the best universities.

Deloitte produced another great example of a powerful Facebook campaign. To get their staff to reflect on Deloitte’s business culture and values, Deloitte launched a Deloitte Film Festival competition in which workers in their US offices were invited to submit short videos answering the question: “What’s your Deloitte?”. The campaign was a huge success with the videos posted on YouTube receiving 400,000 views.

As a business focused on working with SMEs, we know it is often difficult to find the time to focus your efforts on building your social media presence, as well as generating ideas for interesting content. Here are a few tips to help you get started in producing a successful social media channel for your business.

1. Use your own unique brand image on your profile. Use images and content that reflects the values of your business. It is common knowledge that the ‘about us’ and ‘meet the team’ pages  are often the most viewed pages of a website. Your Facebook page is an excellent platform to introduce your team.

2. Post relevant and industry related content.  Interesting content is required to keep people engaged. Use links to blogs, articles and videos that are relevant to your industry to supplement your own original content.

3. Start a conversation using social media. Facebook and Twitter are supposed to be interactive, participate in discussions on relevant topics or comment on someone else’s postings. Find every opportunity to start a discussion.

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This Month’s Top Marketing Tips

29.03.11

1. Really Bad Power Point - This Seth Godin eBook explores why power points are so bad and how we can tackle them to create a better presentation.
2. Search PSD – Free online collection of over 1,500 PSD files. You can search for them by name or category. When you hover the mouse cursor over a thumbnail of the file, it shows a download link that helps you download the file in zipped format.
3. ytplaylist.com – A YouTube playlist maker that helps you effortlessly create playlists out of different videos, and then share them with friends or embed them on your website. An easy way to create videos for your blog and no sign up needed.

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What can SME's learn from the super brands?

11.03.11

Mercedes has been revealed as the UK's number one consumer superbrand in the 12th annual survey by the Centre for Brand Analysis, toppling last year’s winner Microsoft, which dropped into 6th place. This is the first time in five years that Microsoft or Google have not topped the list.

Mercedes-Benz has performed well  over the last five years, with the brand featuring in the top ten since 2006, finally claiming the top spot on their 125 year anniversary.  The TBCA poll, carried out by the Centre of Brand Analysis, placed the car firm ahead of luxury watchmaker Rolex, which maintained its position from last year, whilst the BBC came in third, having placed in the top five for the last five years.

So what factors are considered when crowning the UK’s top consumer brand? The survey defines a Superbrand as having established "the finest reputation in its field". Such a brand is deemed to offer "significant emotional and/or tangible advantages over other brands, which customers want and recognise". The survey asked 2,000 consumers to assess the following:

• Quality – Does the brand provide quality products and services to its consumers?
• Reliability - Can the brand be trusted to deliver consistently against its promises and maintain product and service standards at all customer touch points?
• Distinction – Does the brand offer unique services and products to its consumers? Is it a well known brand that stands out from its competitors?

So how has Mercedes claimed the top spot? The premium brand attributes its success to investing in innovation and building on its 125-year heritage. "We haven't chased volume sales in the downturn, but last year we increased our market share to 3.4% - a significant figure for a luxury brand. Everybody in the company is absolutely committed to delivering exceptional levels of customer service, and this survey result shows that these efforts are paying off,” says a spokesman for the brand.

Heritage proved to be a key trend in the Consumer survey, with most of the brands having had a longer life span than the average consumer, for example Rolex, British Airways and Jaguar.

So what can SMEs learn from this to help build their brands?

Well, focusing on the 3 attributes of ‘quality’, ‘reliability’ and ‘distinction’ when assessing your business, seems a sensible place to start.

Whilst cutting costs, and corners in the process, might seem appealing in this challenging economic times, it is clear that compromising on quality will severely damage your reputation and potentially long-term profitability.

Reliability and consistency are critical factors to have in place, whether you sell products or deliver services. It is vital that you maintain, if not improve, the levels of service and quality that your customers expect. The challenge for businesses is that customer expectations are not static, they keep increasing, so what might have been perceived as outstanding in the past, might be deemed expected as a minimum, in the present. Ensuring you have effective CRM and delivery systems and managing customer expectations will help maintain the excellent levels of service / quality your customers have come to expect.

Being distinct from your competitors is equally important. In an increasingly crowded marketplace, occupying a distinct and competitive position from your competitors will help your target audience understand how you differ from the other options open to them and most importantly, how they will benefit from your UNIQUE position. It may be challenging, but make sure your business has a USP. Without it, you are just another business amongst many, indistinct and indiscernible from the multitude of options out there. Having trouble coming up with your USP? Take a look at the competition. You may find it is staring you in the face.

Ensuring your business puts ‘quality’, ‘reliability’ and ‘distinction’ at the forefront of its values, gives you a chance of becoming one of the ‘Superbrands’ of the future.

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