Marketing and Social Media go hand in hand,I would be surprised if anyone would say that it didn’t.It may be said that the combination works better for some than it does for others which has elements of truth.
Essentially all companies from whatever sector of what ever size can derive huge benefits form using platforms such as Twitter,Facebook and LinkedIn… Social Media has taken off and every business needs to be part of the conversation.
Most often the key positive factors in having a Social Media campaign are centred around brand building,raising awareness,reputation enhancement,establishing expertise. These are of course important but they don’t cover an area that is often neglected,that of Customer and Competitor Research.
Customer and Competitor Research
It is easy to overlook the fact that there is free information out there that gets you closer to your market sector.This same information allows you to mine for New Business and gain insights into your competitors that you would never have had before.
New Business
What if you knew how to find the people who currently, as of now,need your service and want to buy that service?
Well you can…Twitter allows you to search for key words and phrases..think of it as Google in reverse..
If you needed a plumber then you might Google “Plumber Town X” and look at the results and phone a couple…imagine if a plumber called you and said they could help with your burst pipe…wow, you’d be amazed..
Searches can be run using Twitter itself and platforms such as Hootsuite..there are simple searches and you can even refine searches with an Advanced search function on Twitter.
Customer Research
By using Twitter,FaceBook and LinkedIn you can ask questions of your customers and conduct effective research.
Simply ask you followers for feed back using a variety of available tools...FaceBook has plenty of platforms that can be used, LinkedIn has Answers for example, in Twitter just ask and you will get responses from your followers..if the post is Re Tweeted then you automatically get a wider potential base of answers.
Competitor Intelligence
Track your competitors by checking their FaceBook pages, interrogate LinkedIn company profiles to see what they have been up to – very useful to see who the key people are in rival organisations.Quick research often gets good results, key people,new hires,new services…
Use Twitter to stay in touch with what competitors are up to. Follow key companies and people,check their lists and see who they are following,using tracking tools of which there are many..
The key to making this work is organisation…use the tools available and make sure that you have the basics in place, Google Alerts,a good Twitter platform such as Hootsuite,with lists and searches organised properly.Follow companies in LinkedIn,Like companies on Facebook,build relationships.
Use your LinkedIn company profile to post updates about what you are up to as a company,a powerful way to supplement your Online activity.
Remember…your Social Media marketing activity will take time to bear fruit,but your Customer Research and Competitor Intelligence will deliver immediate feedback…business intelligence that can be acted upon NOW..
We know what works because we have worked hard at finding out ….practical solutions that gets our clients results.
Not sure how to get the best from your campaigns?
Get in touch and arrange a chat,happy to help…..please contact socialmedia@customeyes-research.co.uk
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