Book: Social Media for Business

Happy New Year!

Feels good to be back and ready to dive right in. Funny how that is. I was here working in my office just a few days ago but somehow I feel like the whole business is starting over again. Like everything is brand new.

So, with this new outlook and a renewed joie de vivre, here are my thoughts on what Social Media is and how it should be used by businesses this year. Consider this as maybe a "Forward" in my book, not sure yet where it fits in exactly, but figure it will be somewhere up front.

Social Media for Business
If you are just dabbling in Social Media then you may still not be sure what exactly it will do for you or where it fits in to your company structure.  You've probably created a Twitter account, built a simple Facebook page and maybe even added a company blog to your website.  Good.  That's a great start.  Now, let's step back for a minute and think about what this is all for.

There are four reasons to use Social Media for your business.  They are:

• Marketing
• PR
• Market Research
• Customer Service

And not necessarily in any particular order.  Overall you are trying to connect with your customers and engage them.  But lets not mince words, ultimately you want to sell more products.

Marketing
From a marketing perspective, consider Social Media as an enhanced version of CRM.  Hopefully you are already running an effective email marketing campaign and properly utilizing your database of customers.  Well, now you need to run several mailing lists.  Your Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. all have fans, followers, and subscribers.  They need to be communicated with on a regular basis.  They need to be entertained, supported, and rewarded.  This is where smart marketing comes in.  Utilize the methods provided by each Social Media outlet to engage with your customer. Connect with them and give them a reason to learn more about your products.  If you do your job well, people will buy your products and then talk about them through Social Media. 

PR
Publicity and Public Relations are no longer just about getting an article in BusinessWeek or the New York Times.  Now there are thousands of influential blogs and outlets that can create a positive effect on your business.  In fact, your own blog and properly using the editorial features on you social media properties can provide you with as much publicity as an article in a major print publication.  It's all about the niche.  Think small but concentrated.

Market Research
Thanks to Social Media you have incredible access to  your customers.  You have hundreds or thousands of "fans" coming to your Social Media properties and asking you for information.  They want to know more. They also want to tell you what they think.  So encourage them to speak freely.  Ask them what they like about your product.  Ask them what they don't like.  Treat them like family and they will give you the tools to better your business.  You've probably spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on Market Research over the years.  No need for that now.  Take that money and put it into your Social Media team to conduct Market Research directly with your audience.  And don't forget your employees.  They have a lot to say too.  (Note: the best example of this is being done by Starbucks with their My Starbucks Idea concept where they ask their customers and employees to suggest things they'd like to see at Starbucks.  Then the community votes them up.  Brilliant!)

Customer Service
Ok, this is the tough one because it potentially requires serious resources.  But you can't avoid it, people are quickly learning that they can get your attention a lot faster by speaking to you via Twitter or Facebook than they can on the phone.  So embrace it.  If you help some one publicly via Social Media then others will see this.  You'll be regarded as a customer friendly company.  Which will set you apart from your competition.  (Note: Companies like Comcast, Dell, and Ford have all excelled in this over the past two years.  These are three companies that have all struggled with their customer service reputations but have had serious positive impact with their public perception as a result of their customer service efforts on Social Media).

Now understanding that Social Media touches these four very distinct areas and that most companies have departments set up for each of them, it can often be confusing as to who handles oversight of Social Media.  If I were running your company, I'd create a new division set up for Social Media with a direct connection to each of the corresponding departments.  Depending on the size of your company and the resources available, I might have a member of the Social Media team dedicated to each focus that has one foot in Social Media and one foot in the corresponding department.  That way everyone works together and it becomes less about being territorial and more about unified.  (Yes, I know I'm living in a dream world here, but I'm stating what I believe should happen.)

Happy New Year and welcome to 2010.  This is the year Social Media becomes a major focus of nearly every company.  In 2009 there was a lot of dabbling and a handful of stand outs.  Get started immediately this year.  Get the edge over your competition and most importantly, engage with your customers.  They'll love you for it.