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How to protect your business from social media
26.05.11
The media can be very powerful tool to promote your business. But over the last few years this important communication channel has changed dramatically. The advent and rise of social media, the live indexing of search engines and the growing prominence of smart phones, has accelerated the speed with which ‘news’ is communicated . Millions can be reached in a matter of seconds.
Social media may have brought businesses great opportunities to communicate with their markets, but the pace with which it develops, necessitates organisations consider how they will use the likes of Twitter and Facebook, without landing themselves in compromising situations. There are no guidelines, no rules, few precedents on how best to use it. They are being written as we speak.
The connection between social media and business has solidified over the last few years and it is not just the big consumer brands that are getting involved. More and more SMEs are creating Facebook business pages and setting up Twitter accounts. As a marketing company ourselves, we highly recommend considering including social media within your marketing strategy, however, steps have to be taken to ensure that what is being said about your brand online is monitored and controlled.
Customers are increasingly using social media to air their opinions of a company or service. To get recommendations, fact find and discuss infinite topics. Businesses cannot control what is said, but unlike traditional face to face conversations, we are afforded the valuable opportunity to listen in and learn.
Trying to maintain brand reputation online, combined with higher levels of connectivity, may sound daunting for a business owner. Whilst large corporations can spend vast sums employing teams to monitor the ever expanding list of social media platforms, what can SMEs do without these big budgets? The opportunities that social media affords small businesses mean it cannot be ignored. Indeed it should be embraced. The key is taking the necessary steps to ensure you minimise the risks when getting involved.
1. Put in place a social media policy
Effective social media polices set the guidelines, not only for what employees cannot do, but also set out best practices and activities that members of the team can do to help market the business online safely and professionally. The policy addresses the terms of usage, both during the employment relationship and after the employment relationship has ended. Social media policies prohibits the disclosure of confidential and proprietary information in postings and non-company communications. Staff members may not comment on any aspect of the business as representative s or imply representation without prior authorisation. Staff members should not to compromise the privacy of customers, colleagues, or any other affiliated party.
2. Google Alerts
It’s hard to track the reputation of your business and monitor what is being said about you on the net. One of the ways it can be done is through social media monitoring tools, a great free one is Google Alerts . Once set up, it will alert you to any mentions of keywords you have specified, such as company name, made online. It is an effective tool for gathering both positive and negative feedback that can be responded to accordingly.
3. Make sure you commit to it
A reliable line of communication enables customers to easily feed back their questions and comments about your services or products. A simple email and mail address displayed prominently on your website and other marketing material once sufficed. However, social media has given consumers and businesses alike a platform to communicate directly in real time. Don’t ignore the opportunity to utilise this medium. Ask your audience how they want to communicate and set up the channels they use. Not every platform is necessary or appropriate. Don’t waste time and money trying to use them all. But make sure that if you do get involved you take the time and make the commitment necessary to do so effectively.
Above all else, be genuine and truthful. Over the last week or so, we have all seen how quickly and effective social media can be at outing the truth.
Top Marketing Tips for May
25.05.11
- Involver apps integrate robust and powerful audience engagement tools to your social media streams. Involver has over two dozen applications tailored to Facebook, Twitter and the iPhone, offering a huge range of options for continuous two-way communication. Stream your Twitter feed directly to Facebook or deliver video directly to your social networks by incorporating your YouTube channel as a tab on your Facebook page.
- MobileNoter is a note-taking application for iPhone, iPad or Android platform that is able to sync with Microsoft OneNote notebooks. Do you use OneNote on daily basis on your laptop or PC and dream to have a possibility to sync it with your iPhone, iPad or Android device?
- BullMarket by Seth Godin, an eBook which informs you about companies that can help you make something happen. You can download a version of this eBook and donate to charity.
Are the royal family this country’s USP?
10.05.11
Unless you have been shut off from civilisation for the past 8 months, you may be aware that a Royal wedding took place in April. Whether you were taking part in the celebrations, attending one of the thousands of street parties held, or tuning in to watch the all important balcony kiss, you will remember the day for years to come. The scale of the crowds was a reminder of just how rare such displays of patriotism are in Britain. Unlike other countries, we do not celebrate a national day. The royal wedding helped remind us just how captivated the rest of the world is with our little island.
The royal wedding triggered much discussion in the TLC Business office: Harry’s ‘bed-head’ hair; the unfortunate wardrobe choices of certain members of the royal family, would Prince Phillip stay awake and why was the rest of the world so interested?
The discussions prompted us to consider this: ‘far from being a drain on public finances, are the royal family this country’s USP?’.
A USP can be defined as a unique benefit of a product or service that differentiates it from competing brands. "Fifty other companies sell the same products and services as you do. Why should I do business with you rather than one of your competitors?" This can easily be applied to the UK. Some countries have amazing beaches, tropical climates, luxurious lifestyles, why would a tourist choose the UK over Spain, Thailand, America or Australia? One reason could be the heritage the royal family brings to this country; they help us stand out from the crowd.
Just days after the engagement was announced, magazines celebrating the couple were in the shops, souvenirs were being created and talk shows were discussing the lead up to the wedding. The announcement of a new royal was the catalyst for a wealth of opportunities for Britain to reassert itself on the global stage and a chance to present the country in a positive light.
The initial cynicism of ‘can the country really afford this?’ was gradually eroded as millions decided to embrace the bank holiday and sentiment behind the day and help put on a show for the rest of the world. Crowds filled the streets of London as millions turned up to join the party. 26 million more tuned in to watch the day unfold. 2 billion people around the world, 22.7 million in the US alone and 400 million on Youtube (the biggest ever live streaming audience ever), drawn in by the pageantry of the ceremony and the history of the royal family, watched on captivated.
"Our culture and heritage reputation is very strong around the world," says Visit Britain spokesman Paul Eastham. "At the heart of that lies the monarchy."
Even the most fervent anti-Royalist cannot deny the Royal Wedding has brought positive exposure to the UK and boosted tourism. Estimates suggest the Royal Wedding boosted the economy by £1 billion on the wedding day alone. Going forward, the royal couple are primed to charm the world and in doing so, keeping the UK on the world’s stage for years to come, boosting the economy and country’s global profile.
So if the royal family is the UK’s USP, what is your business’?
If you’ve got something that is unique, your competitors can’t replicate and your customers want, you have a competitive edge that can help your business thrive.
The royal wedding demonstrated that the royal family might just be the USP this country has been searching for. Make sure that you recognise the USP in your business and if you don’t have one, get one!
It doesn’t just have to come from what you sell. It can equally reside in how you sell. Make sure you take the time this month to find what your USP is, it might be staring you right in the face.
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