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Using Social Networks for Business – What Are Your Goals?

In the first post of this series, What Social Networks Should I Join to Promote My Business Website?, I gave an overview of some questions you should ask (and try to answer) to decide which social networks are best for your business.  The first question, is the most important:

What goal or problem am I trying to solve?

It may help to take a look at some possible answers:

  1. Increase Sales
  2. Increase Traffic to the Website – Why?  This is a common answer, but what does more traffic give you?  One would hope you’re actually trying to increase sales (see #1).
  3. Increase Customer Satisfaction – Good.  This should also lead to #1.
  4. Need more information on how our products/services are doing.  – Also good (and should lead to #1 – see a trend?)

Businesses often lose sight of their main goal – to increase sales.  Don’t become bogged down with all these new technologies and buzz words.  If sales are hurting because you have a customer serice or research problem, then use social networks and your website to solve that problem.

Take a deep breath.  Visualize what you’re trying to do and why.  Now we have a good foundation to move forward.

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Internet Strategy Forum Summit – Innovate How We Connect

Presented by Chris Shimojima, VP Global Digital Commerce, Nike

Make It Better.

Nike’s motto: If you have a body, you’re an athlete.

Nike Plus is an RFID chip in a shoe that interacts with an ipod or a wristband. You can get information on how you run – distance, time, pace, calories burned, etc. On their website, you can connect with other runners, establish challenges, create training regimes, log runs, download music, share routes, etc.

NikeiD – individually designed shoes. Online you can design your own shoes, share your designs and be showcased as a creator. Nike created an exclusive NikeiD design studio experience in NYC for professional athletes. In Japan, they created a mass market design studio to experiment in how to make it work for the masses. Recently they opened two stores in NYC and London for mass market NikeiD.

Nike feels that these services add to the retail experience and do not compete with their existing products. They are a way to differentiate their competitive offerings.

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Internet Strategy Summit Forum – Mapping the Digital Landscape: A Strategic Guide

Presented by Geoffrey Ramsey, CEO of eMarketer

Data can be made to say anything you want.  People don’t trust advertising or marketing.

The growth rate for total media spending is only 3.3%.  The growth in traditional media – radio, tv, print is negative.  All the growth is online.  eMarketer is predicting 22.2% growth in online media spending, which includes online video and rich media.

Advice: Learn about communities. Test new marketing concepts without spending much money.

73% of online americans watch video online.  27% of online americans watch full length tv shows online.  47% are more engaged in the ads and 25% more engaged in the show than with traditional tv.  However – the audience is much smaller and spends less time per day watching.

Advice: Spending on online video ads should increase. They allow more measurability, target-ability and share-ability.

There are a few ways to use online video:

  1. Post video footage of your products and services on your website.
  2. Post video ads on content video sites (YouTube, etc.).  Relevancy is key.
  3. Create webisodes (ex. Will It Blend)

30% of US marketers are using blogging as a tactic.  Watch for what people are saying about your company.  It may appear higher in search results than what you say.

Strategies for social networking:

  1. Look, Listen, Lounge, Learn
  2. Advertise – Improved Targeting
  3. Advertise on smaller niche sites – be relevant
  4. BYO (build your own) social network – remember its not about your product or service – create something of value to your customers

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