SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING TIPS FOR SME S

Transcription

1 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING TIPS FOR SME S Diadikasia SA Business Consultants Nick Achilleopoulos Intersocial Workshop on Online Social Networks: Challenges and Perspectives (IWOSN), 15 June 2012, Patras, Greece ΔΙΑΔΙΚΑΣΙΑ ΣΥΜΒΟΥΛΟΙ ΕΠΙΧΕΙΡΗΣΕΩΝ Α.Ε. ΛΕΩΦΟΡΟΣ ΚΗΦΙΣΙΑΣ 180, ΧΑΛΑΝΔΡΙ, Τ.Κ ΤΗΛ.: ΚΕΝΤΡΟ: , FΑΧ: ΑΥΣΤΡΑΛΙΑΣ 137, ΠΑΤΡΑ ΤΗΛ / ΦΑΞ: , / , patra@diadikasia.gr

2 SME s Issues Current business situation characterized by intense challenges SME s face problems like shrinking markets very low profitability Competition Getting closer to the customer is an essential practice

3 Typical marketing steps for SME s Traditional: Strategy & Planning Building, marketing, selling Brand Awareness Visibility, positioning, search, media Public Relations Press, influencers Content (creation) and sales collateral brochures, TV/Radio ads, web NEW: Social media Content, strategy engagement new media

4 Why Social media? Marketing as a term has evolved extensively - since the emergence of social media the available social media is (mostly) free in nature and fulfills the basic essentials of marketing and communication for businesses.

5 Why Social media? Helps: In brand building to create a dialogue between the brands and the consumer. helps to improve customer loyalty, by facilitating community building around a brand. Business focus is already on social media presence (instead of company websites)

6 Why Social media? Enhance word of mouth advertising satisfied customers tell other people how much they like a business, product, service, or event Connect with other Sme s (Networking) Connect with Customers A very large potential customer base is searching online for services or products, but these people are also talking online about it.

7 Social Media SME s need digital coaching utilization of social networking sites should be seen as an opportunity a route to effective communication and interaction with users Community engagement Brand monitoring Content strategy

8 Move to social media Enhanced online presence (Finish your website, put some ad banner on local websites) Set up a facebook page Set up a twitter account Set up a linkedin Account (Set up a blog) Identify forums related to your business When you are creating inspiring, useful or exciting content you have the potential for influential people to be motivated to share it.

9 What customers are doing If potential customers are looking for something or have a problem, they are likely to post a comment on it. Often, instead of calling the supplier directly, users will simply access Facebook, comment on the problem they are having and ask for input alternatively they will tweet about it on Twitter in order to draw on the expertise available in the online community.

10 What businesses should do This means that businesses: have to participate (and monitor) related social networks engage with their customers wherever they are find solutions (in real-time) This is a level of service that many users have grown to expect. In essence, SMEs who are not engaged in social networking risk being left behind and losing business to competitors who respond to issues more quickly.

11 Tips for SME s Listen for the right conversations Social listening to monitor: Your brand Product mentions Industry related topics and talking point Competitors and their products use a simple Google search Try Whos Talkin focuses only on social media, so your results aren't buried inside other results.

12 Tips for SME s Be active on the various sites in conversations that are already happening, for example in a leading portal/forum for your industry proactively and as part of responding to comments Be clear on when you want to participate and when you don t and ensure you don t leave conversations unanswered. This area can be a time drain and you cannot be all things to all people, decide in advance where and how you can add value to a community

13 do not forget A great Twitter account or Facebook Page won't overcome a lousy product that's over-priced and difficult to purchase. Treat social media like a vehicle and not a destination * Before you begin do a cost study Are you willing to pay for it? It involves higher labor cost and time! Measure Costs and benefits... see next slide *Hall Thomas, a communication professional DMA 2011 conference

14 Tips for SME s Social media has a time intensive nature having one on one conversations with customers means it can become all consuming plan the appropriate amount of resource. It will in time develop the brand and the business (luckily above the competition) Use aggregators for faster access to many accounts: Streamified on ios (iphone, ipad), also available as extension to chrome Tweetdeck, Flock, Netvibes, etc Windows Live & Upcoming People app for Microsoft windows 8 Monitor things like: Mentions (brand), Inbound Links, Traffic from specific sources Followers / Friends

15 thoughts marketing still comes second to sales There are big concerns right now the current survival game takes most of the mind space for regional entrepreneurs Technology companies adapt easier unless social media can have a direct impact on sales, most SMEs will stay away Successful cases convince them otherwise

16 Conclusions the successful implementation often requires changes that companies have to perform. the main goal is not to sell, but a commitment that should add value to relationships with the customers Having an active Social Media presence can make a big difference to SME s, especially in markets where companies rely on word of mouth for promoting their products or services.

17 Conclusions Benefits for SMEs You ll measurably build your digital footprint you can be found in multiple places in search results, etc. You ll learn from your customers and the wider market place Links to your website will flow naturally and in volume You can build a brand credibility You show your existing and potential customers that you actually care

18 Thank You ΔΙΑΔΙΚΑΣΙΑ ΣΥΜΒΟΥΛΟΙ ΕΠΙΧΕΙΡΗΣΕΩΝ Α.Ε. ΛΕΩΦΟΡΟΣ ΚΗΦΙΣΙΑΣ 180, ΧΑΛΑΝΔΡΙ, Τ.Κ ΤΗΛ.: ΚΕΝΤΡΟ: , FΑΧ: ΑΥΣΤΡΑΛΙΑΣ 137, ΠΑΤΡΑ ΤΗΛ / ΦΑΞ: , / , patra@diadikasia.gr