Have you heard the buzz? Social media is on everyone’s mind lately, and everyone wants to use it. The exciting part about this new tool is precisely that it is so new. It is untried on so many fronts. It is not saturated like many other channels. It is possible to make a really big splash in a terrifically big way using the tools and contacts available through social networks. Consider the experience of the company highlighted in this example:
Neenah Paper was not having much success finding prospective purchasers for their high end paper products. The time-honored methods of face-to-face gatherings and telephone marketing were not keeping them where they wanted to be. Luckily for them, someone at the company realized that they were just trying the wrong things. When you market a product that caters to a highly visual audience, you need to be where that audience will see you. Today that visible space is online. Computer graphics offer so much for designer and printers to do their jobs better than ever, so if you are offering a product they would appreciate, you need to be online too. A marketer at Neenah Paper realized this and decided to make the most of a tool created for conversation – Twitter. Now their sales team is having more success. Each salesperson maintains a personal twitter account and interacts with people via this social network. It has opened up more people to talking with them than the old methods were. The company has found this resource to be invaluable.
This is just the beginning for this company. You can be sure they will find new and innovative ways to reach their target audience and get the word out about a product they are proud of – to others who will appreciate its value. Are you seeing yourself and your large – or small – business in this example? Can you think of ways to make Twitter work for you?
There are so many possibilities now. Videos that become popular on YouTube can go viral and bring untold wealth to companies that were virtually unknown the week before. Facebook can connect you with the community and give you ways to let your consumers get to know and trust you. There are other networks available that may help you reach your ideal audience. Make the most of this uncharted territory and become a leader in your field as you dive into social media and networking.
Author: Margo Smith graduated with a B.S. degree from BYU. Working through college and being in the corporate world give her a great deal to say about subjects as diverse as wild life refuge to online schooling to social marketing.