On Social Media today, Social Media Guru and forward thinker Brian Solis writes about conversations, and how they directly impact big brands. Conversations entice a consumer to desire to learn more about a brand, and conversations with Twitter entice the consumer to click further, until they get to the main site of the brand itself. Think of your social media platforms as door-to-door messengers that bring the message closer to your customer’s doorstep. In the age of digital media, you must come to your customer. And in the “Google Age”, finding your customer is as easy as a “Google Search.” Create the conversation, the tools are literally at your fingertips.
Brian Solis says in his article in Social Media Today:
“The social web is much greater than your ability to converse and interact within it directly. Outside of empowering the community to help extend your tenets, story and value proposition, social objects can serve as your brand beacons.”
Findings from recent studies back up the claim that conversations are the new “marketing flyer.” They bring information into the hands of your customers and entice them to get additional information about your brand or service.
- 20 percent of tweets published are micro-broadcasts of product information, and contributed by peers or directly by brand representatives
- Half of Twitter users who find brands on Twitter are compelled to move to other online avenues to gather more information about the brand
- This is based on the activity of 3,000 users of social networks
- 48% of those who find a brand on Twitter search for more information online
- 34% of users of other social networks search for more information online
- 44% have recommended a product in Social Media
- 39% have used Twitter to recommend products
It is no secret that “Search” is big. Perhaps the less obvious fact is that you can share in the “bigness” of search and social media. Find your customer in the social media corners that they lurk on, introduce yourself with a hefty social media handshake, and start the conversation. You might leave the conversation with a business transaction, or at the very least, you might have gained a friend, and valuable insights to help you progress further in the marketing of your business.
