Social media marketing: Is it for you?
The digital environment is constantly changing and evolving and it’s no longer a one-way street for marketers. Customers now have just as much influence on the way a brand is shaped and perceived within the marketplace, as the actual marketers themselves.
According to Marriott, where many businesses fail is not in the execution, but what comes after that. “If you look at the sales cycle: awareness, interest, desire, conversion, repurchase, etc, after awareness the marketing effectiveness begins to wear off,” he explains.
So how can companies ensure that they retain the customer’s interest? “When it comes to influence and desire, that’s where other people in the social network begin to take a higher level of importance. From a marketer’s perspective, it’s doing what they can to keep the discussion on track to positive thinking,” he says.
And what happens when it doesn’t all go according to plan?
“Companies shouldn’t be afraid to respond and admit fault if something doesn’t go the way they planned,” says Marriott.
I asked Marriott to give me some examples of companies that have experienced massive consumer backlash online and how they handled it. He gave a great example of KFC in the US and the grilled chicken debacle.
Earlier this year in the US, fast food giant KFC used social media to launch a new grilled chicken product. They enlisted the help of talk show queen Oprah to promote the product on her show. The company’s offer of two free pieces of grilled chicken, two sides and a biscuit to anyone who downloaded a coupon within a two-day period had viewers across America scrambling to download the free coupon and running to their nearest KFC store to claim their free meal. The offer sent the chain store skyrocketing to the No. 1 topic on Twitter and by the next day, blogs began reporting ‘riots’ at New York City KFCs.
Due to the overwhelming response, KFC was unable to meet the demand and some customers were turned away. Angry customers took to Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and anything they could get their hands on to vent their anger about the promotion. By the time KFC realised they weren’t keeping up with demand, they pulled the plug on the promotion and issued rain checks to consumers willing to go back to a KFC, fill out a form and wait for another coupon to arrive in the mail. They were to be rewarded with a free Pepsi.
While this is not a desirable outcome for any business, what they did next was the most remarkable thing of all, says Marriott, and actually put them back in the good books of the American public.
Marriott explains: “Yes they got bad feedback, but they didn’t hide their head in the sand. They responded almost immediately. They took responsibility and acted swiftly. They issued an official apology, they had staff monitoring Twitter feeds and people complaining about not getting a coupon were addressed by customer service reps.
“They were out there in the community and participating, and as a result came out looking better.”
The moral of the story is that, if you choose to engage in the ‘social media world’ you need to know how to operate within it, and how to mitigate risk. Nobody has all the answers. No one knows what the perfect social media strategy is. The skill lies in how you handle yourself within that world.
Bottom line? “Figure out what’s best for your business and do it well,” says Marriott. “Listen and respond to your customers and they will keep coming back.”
People who read this, also liked:
Preventing social media disasters
6 ways to engage your online community
Related posts:
- Using social media to market your business
- Webtrends announce social media measurement tool
- Social Media Marketing – an alternative strategy in tough times
- Preventing social media disasters
- The Social Media Conundrum
Print » 
Send to a friend>>
Great article! I agree with your point that social media is more than just a presence on a site like Twitter or Facebook. Its about a strategy to communicate & engage with consumers and that communication could be anything from Facebook to video sharing or photo sharing, etc.
Some really sensible discussion here – social media isn\’t for everyone, but can certainly be a powerful tool if used correctly. Too many small businesses feel the pressure to get involved with the various social media tools without thought to how it will help achieve their marketing objectives.
Great article!!
I’ll be running a workshop in Kirribilli on 26th November, 9am-11am, on the topic of using Social Media for small business Marketing.
Yes, word of mouth is key to increasing sales. When was the last time you bought something because an ad persuaded you? For most people, friends, families and colleagues have the biggest influence on purchasing decisions. In this way, social media can be a very effective marketing vehicle. One Twitter post can generate thousands of leads. Thanks for the post!
You can learn a lot from a friend of ours who built an empire using social media. Read our interview called “The Cult of Personality” at http://www.famefoundry.com/1091/the-cult-of-personality-part-2
@FFcommunicator
Very nice Article with helpfull information.
Social Media is just another technique to create branding using facebook, twitter and other social media sites that you can use creates a buzz about your site.
See More Comments