A recent IBM study shows that 82% of CMOs worldwide are planning increase their technology investment in social media within the next three to five years.
These are interesting data. As social media evolves and more businesses jumping o this bandwagon it looks for me that three to five years are not an appropriate time frame to step into conversation with existing and future customers.
The more companies engage in social media two way communications the thinner the air becomes for those who start later. Those who come late will experience a massive uphill battle to gain positions which their competitors already have secured.
Companies which like to position their business to gain a competitive advantage need to act now, and not to wait three to five years.
Moreover companies who decide to take action within the next five years will be under risk to vanish from the customer radar and sink.
As social media is evolving at a very quick pace businesses also need to evolve to stay on track.
Content creation is the key to get found on the web. Your audience is researching o the web fist. If your audience can’t find you when they research for products or services which you also have to offer than you will lose potential business.
The three big search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing are indexing content form social media. So if you are in social media your chances increase to get found on the web.
What can you do to position your business today?
If you want to do business in the next five years and beyond you should take the opportunity to jump into social media as a valuable communication channel.
A. Register the most important social media networks for your brand as they are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, Slideshare and any other sites or forums where your target audience is around.
B. Complete and customize your profiles there to have a social media branding to get recognized by your audience.
C. Listen to the social media conversation and contribute if you feel you have something valuable and helpful to say.
D. Start a corporate blog where you write about topics which your audience is interested in. Share your articles in your social media channels and ask your audience about their opinion.
E. Train you staff to become your brand ambassadors on the web and I social media and give them the freedom to decide how to communicate by establishing clear social media policy.
F. Measure your doings and check out what is working and what is not working. The things which work for your business you should intensify and the thing which do not work the way you have expected you should cut back.
G. Set realistic goals! Be realistic with your social media engagement. Rome wasn’t built in a day as well. Be patient as any strategy needs time to breathe to show up results and social media marketing a blogging are no exceptions.
Infographic: The ROI of Social Media
–How about you? What are your experiences with sociel media? I am looking forward to your comment below.
Further important sources:
- Customer Data, Social Media Top Marketing Priorities for CMOs Worldwide
- Google Begins Indexing Facebook Comments
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