Social Media is NOT Optional

by Samir Balwani on November 24, 2008 · View Comments

Everyone keeps asking for a ROI or proof that social media is important. I’m here to say, if you’re a company that cares about your brand, investing in social media is a required expense. Whether you like it or not people are talking about you and you better spend the money to not only be a part of but to dominate that conversation.

Social media marketing is in its infancy and may never actually come to fruition, but leveraging social media for pr, customer relations, and community building is here to stay. We have case study after case study proving its effectiveness as a vessel for customer service or buzz creation.

I’m Not Listening

The biggest reasons why brands must understand the online space and social media is because it will happen without you. Whether you’re listening or not, people will gripe on Twitter, complain on their blog, or boycott you.

If you don’t respond to the bad press it could explode on you. Traditional media is relying on bloggers and web resources more often for breaking news and trending topics. What you saw on a blog could very well show up on the New York Times.

Who’s The Leader?

Don’t want to take part in the conversation? Fine, but don’t complain when someone else becomes the trusted member of a community based on your brand.

When the company isn’t the leader of the community, someone else will rise to that position. Are you willing to put full faith of your message and brand in this random person?

Yes its true that the web has made it more difficult to control your message, but without a social media campaign you have no means to push a favorable conversation for your brand.

Where’s the Store?

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Not having any social media interaction or online space is like not having a store front.

Let’s say you have a website, but there’s no back and forth. That’s like having a store with no employees.

Without a website or blog people can’t connect with you or find you online. They can’t create the connection new customers crave. If I have a question about a product or just need a suggestion to push me over the edge, there is no way for me to get that.

Proper Use of Social Media

We talk a lot about how to use social media. There’s a very simple formula for making it an effective tool. Listen about 90% and talk 10%.

Use the time to monitor for your brand. Where are you showing up, what are people saying, how can you help them? These are all questions you need to answer before setting up your full campaign.

By tracking your brand, you’re able to quell uprisings before they grow out of control. Placating consumers with issues publicly, not only solves problems but is proof to potential buyers that the brand is willing to help and easy to get in touch with.

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Angela Connor November 25, 2008 at 1:18 am: I am with you 100% on this one. I’ve just written two posts about this. I’ve come across so many people at various speaking engagements who reach out to me afterwards and go on and on about the fact that they cannot get buy-in for what they know is right. There is such a ridiculous resistance to even trying something different. I often say this: “If you don’t manage your online reputation, Google and others will do it for you.” I manage a very robust online community and the opportunities I see for brands to engage and create a positive outcome out of bad situations, are many. It’s a shame that it isn’t happening at the rate it should.
Samir Balwani November 25, 2008 at 1:29 pm: @Angela It’s funny because I think about it all the time. Everyday we have so many opportunities to make our brands look better, to make our company stand out. Yet people are afraid to do it because of the ROI. If everything were determined by flat out numbers and profits, then we wouldn’t invest in Public Relations or anything else that makes people “feel” a certain way. Social proof is here to stay. If companies don’t invest in it… that social proof might end up being negative. This isn’t a scare tactic, more a look at the truth.
jessiev December 2, 2008 at 9:56 pm: Bravo, Samir! I think that social media takes a lot of time (and energy) and you have to be REAL about it. I can tell when people really care, and when they’re just going through the motions. It is a full-time job, though, isn’t it?!
Samir Balwani December 2, 2008 at 11:42 pm: @jessiev It really is a full time job. You have to invest the time and energy to really share your life and thoughts. Obviously, you have to be ok with that level of transparency too though.
Caitlin December 17, 2008 at 8:18 am: I think it’s totally misguided to suggest that a brand can ‘dominate’ conversations on social media or even that they should try. That’s not what social media is about. Taking part in conversations is fine but you can’t drown out the voices of dissent without annoying people. Imagine you were at a party and trying to talk over everyone and make them agree with you. It’s not exactly how you win friends and influence people, is it? Maybe you didn’t really mean ‘dominate’ but that’s the word you chose and it’s actually a fairly typical mindset within the PR industry. You can’t control the story. You can’t control the media and you definitely can’t control social media. Be a part of it but be respectful and accept that you can’t please all of the people all of the time.
Guillaume December 17, 2008 at 8:18 am: Good post! I have seen so many articles about the ROI of social media that a position like yours is a bit refreshing! The thing is that in recession time you can feel the constraint on budget so at the end everyone becomes obsessed with it. But I hope that some companies will follow the common sense rule that says:”Do not cut your marketing budget in recession time!”.
Samir Balwani December 17, 2008 at 10:31 am: @Caitlin Let’s consider your party story. What if I didn’t just yell over everyone, but became the center of attention. Everyone talked to me, and I was the most popular one there. Wouldn’t you consider that “dominating” the party? That’s the same thing corporate brands need to do with social media. Simply being a part of the conversation isn’t enough. They must steer and play role-model in the conversation.

@Guillaume Marketing is so important and in a recession people are tight with their money. They’ll only buy products from companies that are trusted or that stand out. Make sure you fall into either of those categories.