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Opinions abound as to whether or not social media is important. And in spite of the fact that many marketing managers understand that social media has become a fundamental means of communication, many fail to grasp why social media is important and why they should be using it.
Is it because our current president may very well have won the election because of his campaign team’s social media savvy? No.
Maybe it’s because before Domino’s Pizza had a corporate-level social media strategy, they were unable to diffuse the negative perceptions about their brand spawned by two deviant employees armed with a sick sense of humor and a video camera….Yes, using social media is an excellent means of retaliating against would-be brand saboteurs. But no, that’s not the reason why it should be used.
Perhaps it’s because news travels faster via social sites like Twitter and Facebook, even faster than on the local news. And, if you can get the right message into the hands of influential members of social networks, you, too, can “go viral.” We’re getting closer, but we still haven’t arrived at the reason why using social media is a good idea.
Recent statistics show that 175 million users are on Facebook every hour and upwards of 40 million update their status daily. More than 70 million Facebook users access the site on their mobile devices. Purposely built Facebook pages have generated more than 5.3 billion fans. Seventy percent of bloggers are organically talking about brands on their blogs. Twitter boasts over 75 million user accounts. Linked-In has over 50 million members worldwide. There’s more, but we don’t have room in this post to cover all of the statistics related to social media. Yet, not one of them sufficiently answers the question, “Why use social media?”
That’s because the answer is simpler than any statistic. It’s simpler than a means of crisis management. And, it’s infinitely simpler than studying the inner workings of a presidential campaign.
The reason you should use social media: because your customers do.
Being where the action is has long been an integral aspect of a successful marketing effort. These days, it’s more critical than ever. Because in order to catch people when they are most open to receiving marketing messages, you must intersect with their lives in a personal, casual way. And the social sphere is the only place besides the offline physical encounter where this is possible.
Social media is where friends meet friends. And, once you’re making friends in the social sphere as a brand, you are well on your way to social media success.
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