SEO & Digital Marketing: ‘Social’ Media

At this point in the game, most companies that partake in Digital Marketing have accepted the fact that Social Media must be a part of their overall strategy for success, and are incorporating these efforts into their marketing plans.However, many of these companies are making the same mistakes with these efforts.Specifically, there is a conspicuous slack of Social in their Social Media efforts.The whole point of Social Media is to facilitate peoples desire to communicate with one another.These communications are now able to take place in real-time, among people from all corners of the world.The raw power of Social Media is being displayed daily, with shining examples including the solidarity shown during the Iranian elections and recent natural disasters where people have bandied together, shared information, and ultimately gone to the rescue of their fellow Social Media users.These are examples of how the Social in Social Media can make an impact on the world, but how does it translate to the marketing environment? The answer is actually much simpler than the tactics being used by many major businesses.To some companies, a simple presence on Social Media is enough for them to feel satisfied.They may have a Facebook page with a healthy amount of subscribers/fans, and a Twitter account with several thousand followers and feel that their efforts are being successful and perhaps they are correct.Still, we must look closer at their execution in order to see where they are lacking.Upon closer inspection we learn that the companys Twitter account is filled with simple, predictable tweets.They are posting news stories from highly trafficked pages, and re-tweeting interesting stories.But, there is zero communication between them and their customer and they are not responding to people who mention their brand.In short, they are participating in Social Media, but not engaging.The problem here is that engaging is what Social Media is all about.This is not a hands-off initiative like Search Engine Marketing, it is a personal and very human relationship.Using Social Media without engaging is like keeping a Ferrari in first gear you are not truly experiencing what the medium has to offer.Marketers the world over must up-shift their Social Media efforts and begin communicating with their audiences.If their product or service is mentioned in a Social Media outlet, whether in a negative or positive light, the company should respond to the mention.If the comment was negative, try to see if the issue is solvable.If positive, nurture the relationship further by thanking them for being a loyal customer.Some companies prefer to keep their brand as more of entity rather than putting a human face on it, and this is perfectly reasonable.Still, this does not mean that engagement should be ignored for the sake of keeping the brand anonymous.Lets say the company in question in this particular case is Company X.Their Twitter name is Company_X and the company prefers to keep announcements from this account to general communications and announcements.A Social Media specialist representing the company could be given a Twitter account name such as Company_X_Outreach.This account could be responsible for all direct communications between the brand and the public.The point here is that even when there is a strong desire to protect the brand, there are ways to keep lines of communication open, mutually active and thriving.With Social Media the channels for communication are given freely, but they must be properly used in order for them to have the desired effect.Passive participation is better than nothingScience Articles, but pales in comparison to the incredible potential of active engagement.