This week, we navigated through some of the “Do’s” and
“Don’ts” of effectively using social media for business through the lens of
author Dave Kerpen.
Much of what Kerpen discusses may appear to be common sense,
but his points regarding engagement, responsiveness, authenticity, honesty and
transparency are important ones to reinforce. One item that stood out to me in
particular was Kerpen’s assertion that, by the year 2015 or 2016, there would
be companies whose only “official website” would be a social media site (p.
175). Kerpen believes that social media platforms like Facebook provide all of
the tools that a traditional website would, with the advantage of exposure to a
much larger potential customer base.
While his points are valid, there is still tremendous value
to a company having a website – and to that end, seamless social media
integration into an existing website is imperative for a company’s success. Temin
(2014) adds that few organizations have successfully been able to build the totality of their brand presence on social media: websites act as the “hub,”
while social media platforms are the “spokes,” each with unique benefits and
audiences.
Team Two – what do
you think? If you were the owner of an organization, would you consider moving
away from the traditional website towards a social-only presence? I personally
think a balance is most appealing, making sure that social media is as tightly
and easily integrated into a website as possible for maximum exposure.
The fact of the matter is that businesses are utilizing
social media to their advantage – as of 2014, there were 40 million
active small business pages (Beese, 2015). During my time at my former job
with a PR agency, I was tasked to integrate social media into our clients’
marketing and PR programs. One client I worked with was Satin Ice, a worldwide
manufacturer of fondant. In 2015, Satin Ice hosted its inaugural
trade show, “The Americas Cake & Sugarcraft Fair,” and with the help of my
agency, developed a suite of social media accounts specific to the show. While
there are always lessons to be learned, I would consider Satin Ice’s foray into
social media for this trade show a “perfect example” of some of the concepts
Kerpen discusses, including:
- Social media maintenance is not just the responsibility of one department. As Kerpen stated, “Customers don’t care about your job title or what department you’re in. If they have problems, then they want solutions” (p. 175). With a little training from our agency, Satin Ice employees from across the business – from the CEO to the administrative assistant – became fluent in social media and were able to address feedback or questions in a timely manner.
- Respond
quickly to comments – both good and bad. At the conclusion of the
trade show, the show’s Facebook page was flooded with (mostly positive)
feedback from attendees. Satin Ice did a terrific job of acknowledging all of
these comments – especially important given it was the inaugural show and
feedback would be extremely important for future years.
Responses to negative feedback, such as the one below, were short but genuine and generally quelled any customer concerns (Facebook.com/CakeandSugarcraftFair). For instance, the commenter here “Liked” the show’s response.
- Responses to positive feedback, such as shown below, helped develop the show’s “social personality,” as described by Kerpen - showing that Satin Ice truly cares about connecting directly with the consumer and enticing them to come back for more.
And for those of you interested in all things cake and chocolate – the show will return next March!
References:
Beese, J. (2015, June 20). 17 powerful Facebook stats for marketers
and advertisers. Retrieved from http://sproutsocial.com/insights/facebook-stats-for-marketers/.
Kerpen, D. (2015). Likeable social media (2nd ed.). McGraw Hill Education.
Temin, D. (2014, January 9). Don’t kill off your website –
use it as the hub for your social media presence. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviatemin/2014/01/09/dont-kill-off-your-website-use-it-as-the-hub-for-your-social-media-presence/#63068ea314e8.
Nicole,
ReplyDeleteIn my field, higher education, I couldn't even think about considering moving away from the traditional website to a social-only presence. A college website is where prospective students find out about our programs, discover financial aid information, fill out applications, and other business. If anyone can tell me how a college could survive without a website, let me know. Of course, you're all going to say that we survived without it before the Internet, but the advantages of a website are critical to enrollment success right now. Online education continues to grow. How would a college offer online courses without a website to host its LMS?
And, thanks for the chuckle after I read your comment about social media maintenance is the responsibility of more than one department. If only I can convince departments here at my college about that fact. Most believe it is the sole responsibility of the PR office to "handle" their social media pages.
And, thanks for making me hungry. Now I need some chocolate cake.
Hi Steve,
DeleteIf only more organizations could realize that social media is not just a PR function! The way I see it, if those who are closest to the organization aren't comfortable with utilizing social media channels, then maybe they should not have them in the first place.
Completely agree with you re: colleges having a website. I don't think it would be appropriate in this day and age for an organization like that to NOT have a website! In fact, I think college websites could be considered the biggest tool/wealth of resources for attracting prospective students.
Thanks for reading!
Nicole
Nicole, I am very glad you brought up the chapter on an official website being a Facebook site. Like Stephen, I work in higher education and I could not imagine everything on our web page being handled through Facebook. I also manage my church's Facebook page and can not see a benefit to making our Facebook page the only page we have. I know it works for some areas, but there are a couple concerns. First, you are relying on Facebook being available 24/7/365 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year). While that may be possible, for a business relying on another location to control how people see your business, that may make some people nervous. The other is that, while you could make things public for anyone to see, if you want people to interact with the company or order something, they would likely have to join Facebook, and not everyone is willing to do that.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point about making sure social media is integrated well with an official website, and not just with little links to Facebook or Twitter. I like the sites where you can see actual feeds from social media locations, so you know just how busy, or not, a company is on social media.
By the way, I think that is really impressive that for a first time event, Satin Ice did really well, including incorporating social media. Thanks for the great example! (And a desire to make a trip to Orlando next year!)
Great points, Jenn. I think this decision should be the call of the organization - it may work for some, but certainly not for others like churches or colleges, as Steve mentioned above. But definitely something to consider as we dive even deeper into the social media world!
DeleteIt was a great experience working with Satin Ice on their show and I agree that they did a terrific job in managing their social media pages to drive traffic and interest to the show.
Hi Nicole,
ReplyDeleteThe question you posed to the team about whether or not brands should have official websites is one that I have dealt with in my career time and time again. In my personal opinion, I believe brands do need a website, to some degree, because I feel it is like having a business card. It shows that a company is a legitimate enterprise and, provided a website isn’t inundated with useless information or inefficient design, gives customers and easy way to find out about the brand, its people and its contact information.
Beyond that, a website is not engaging and does not provide a platform for conversation or interaction. It is also a relatively corporate tool and does not always do much to humanize a brand.
As with any marketing and communication plan, a company must decide what works best for its stakeholders, customers included. My company owns and manages several brands for children so social media can’t be our only avenue. We will use social platforms to interact with parents and adult fans but factors such as COPPA compliance, age restrictions and what children find engaging often lead us to building very interactive websites for our brands.
In terms of your Cake and Sugarcraft example, did you find that a simple acknowledgement of the complaint was enough to satisfy the customer or did the client have to offer some type of compensation in addition to social engagement?
I like comparing a brand web site to a business card. That's definitely an interesting way to think of it, and a way to ensure that brands keep their web sites in addition to social media.
DeleteHi Nicole!
ReplyDeleteGreat question for the team this week! I found a great article online that shares some of the pros and cons to having a website vs. social media:
http://smallbiztrends.com/2014/12/website-vs-social-media-profile-page.html
Personally, I believe having a website adds credibility to your organization. A strong web presence should be a crucial component of any successful organization. A website reinforces your brand and is the first encounter may consumers will have with your organization!
For example, how many times have you gone to a restaurant’s website only to find they do not have a menu, contact information, hours or address! Personally, if I can’t find this information quickly, I am back to google looking for another option!
Benefits to having a website are: cost effective, establishes credibility, full control over marketing, and 24 hour availability. However, a website requires maintenance, complexity and more marketing efforts. (Stillwagon, 2014, para 4).
However, social media should also be an important part of online presence! It connects and engaged your audience! The more compelling your material, the more likely your audience will like, share and promote your business.
Social media allows you to take advantage of the billions of people who are connected on platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn (Stillwagon, 2014, para 2). Social media is quick and free, low commitment, covers a global market and open communication. Some cons to exclusively using social media would be limited design, reporting tools and lack of ownership.
References:
Stillwagon, A. (2014, December). Faceoff: Website vs Social Media Profile or Website. Small Business Trends. Retrieved from: http://smallbiztrends.com/2014/12/website-vs-social-media-profile-page.html