In 2011, it is clear, if you want to reach your target customers you have to be on Facebook, and if you want to network with like-minded people, Twitter is the place to be. If you want to make professional connections (or find a job) you join LinkedIn. These three social networking sites are the trinity of social media marketing. Not being on these sites today, is like not having a website 10 years ago…you need to be there, but perhaps you aren’t sure what for. This first part in a new series of blog posts will explain why you must not only use social media, but how you can ensure you are maximizing your efforts.
Social media marketers have come to realize that it is not enough to simply have a minor presence on social networking sites, but you need to engage in the communities where your target customers gather. In addition, since organizations and brands can no longer control what is said about their brand and image online, they need to instead build trust and loyalty with members of the online community. Community is a word that you may have heard a lot about in the world of social media and word-of-mouth marketing. Depending on the size of your organization, you may serve many different audiences, each with their own wants and needs and each with their own specific online community.
Much has been written about the power of community, engaging with "raving fans" and word-of-mouth marketing via social media. There is quite a lot of content available online and published in books. However, I would suggest you start with a "classic" book on this topic: Creating Customer Evangelists: How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba. This book was a big influence on the community development in general and although a couple of years old, the principles are timeless. You can also check out the books website http://creatingcustomerevangelists.com and their blog Church of the Customer: (http://www.churchofthecustomer.com). In there you will find many cases of social engagement, as well as a 5 stage model of what they call the "Social Engagement Journey". This model shows the different stages your organization may find itself in regards to interacting with customers using social media to building your online community. Some other great books on the online community Design to Thrive: Creating Social Networks and Online Communities that Last
We at Aday Interactive are just restarting our journey into re-developing our community initiatives. After many years of working on social media strategy development efforts for clients, we have decided it is time to build out community for ourselves. This blog, along with our Facebook FanPage (http://www.facebook.com/adayinteractive/), Twitter account (http://www.twitter.com/adayinteractive/) and LinkedIn(http://linkd.in/adayinteractiveinc), will be the core of our social media efforts.
This post will the first in a short series to discuss how you as business owners can build your own following, using social media to build or enhance your online brand and reputation. At the same time, it will serve as the kick off blog post for the newly re-launched Aday Interactive website and blog. We hope to help you engage with your local communities online, to attract a loyal following of your own, hopefully while attracting a following of our own. In the next few postings, we will review steps you can take to get started in your journey as well, so you took can reap the benefits of a well thought out social media strategy. If you would like more information call 305-918-2329 (ADAY) or schedule a social media consultation in the Doral area with Aday Interactive today!
