• About Us
  • Write for Us
  • Paid Content Solutions
  • Contact Us
ExpertHub
  • HOME
  • LAUNCH
  • BUSINESS
  • LEADERSHIP
  • MONEY
  • SUCCESS
  • NEWS
    • All
    • Company Posts
    • ExpertHub Today
    Transunion Global Capability Centres Boom

    Global Capability Centres Boom As They Move Up The Value Chain

    Global Tech companies

    Global Tech Companies Are Turning To South Africa For Media And Marketing Expertise

    Innovation Summit

    Innovation Summit 2021 Showcases SA’s Top Tech Entrepreneurs

    Three customer experience strategies you’re missing-23Sep21

    Three Customer Experience Strategies You’re Missing

    Embracing digital 1st world, SMBs confid. to thrive-23Sep21

    Embracing A Digital-First World, SMBs Can Have The Confidence To Thrive

    SAB Foundation Calling All Entrepreneurs Tholoana Entps. Prog.

    Applications for SAB Foundation Are Now Open

    Trending Tags

    • About Us
      • Write for Us
      • Paid Content Services
      • Contact Us
    No Result
    View All Result
    • HOME
    • LAUNCH
    • BUSINESS
    • LEADERSHIP
    • MONEY
    • SUCCESS
    • NEWS
      • All
      • Company Posts
      • ExpertHub Today
      Transunion Global Capability Centres Boom

      Global Capability Centres Boom As They Move Up The Value Chain

      Global Tech companies

      Global Tech Companies Are Turning To South Africa For Media And Marketing Expertise

      Innovation Summit

      Innovation Summit 2021 Showcases SA’s Top Tech Entrepreneurs

      Three customer experience strategies you’re missing-23Sep21

      Three Customer Experience Strategies You’re Missing

      Embracing digital 1st world, SMBs confid. to thrive-23Sep21

      Embracing A Digital-First World, SMBs Can Have The Confidence To Thrive

      SAB Foundation Calling All Entrepreneurs Tholoana Entps. Prog.

      Applications for SAB Foundation Are Now Open

      Trending Tags

      • About Us
        • Write for Us
        • Paid Content Services
        • Contact Us
      No Result
      View All Result
      ExpertHub
      No Result
      View All Result
      Home BUSINESS Marketing Online Marketing

      Social is About Sharing, Not Shouting

      Shane Oosthuizen by Shane Oosthuizen
      May 3, 2012
      in Online Marketing
      17
      Social is About Sharing, Not Shouting
      Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedIn

      RelatedTopics

      Top 5 Skills You Need To Pursue A Career In Digital Marketing

      6 Right Digital Marketing Strategy for Your Business

      How to Improve Your Reach with Social Media Marketing

      Unless you live under a rock in the desert, you no doubt have a Facebook profile. Or a Twitter account. Or both. And if you’re pretty savvy from a business end, you’ve had your marketing team set up a sort of social portfolio for your brand too.

      And they no doubt use it as a channel to post and tweet all about product specials and promotions to the handful of fans and followers you’ve acquired alone the way.

      If the above is true, then you’ve initiated the first step in getting your brand on a social network, and little else.

      “We give too much authority to technology,” says Social expert John Burchill, “Probably because many of us don’t understand it.”

      Be a friend – not an irritation

      That’s the trouble with social media – It’s social. People, and I mean normal everyday people, use social as a way to interact with each other. They very rarely use social to shop. So why try sell on it?

      It makes sense to use it as a marketing platform, but it’s how you market yourself that will determine if you become a Friend, or an irritation.

      Social media as a conversion tool? Yes and no. It depends on what you’re selling. Toys ‘R Us uses innovative application Tabs on Facebook to build links to their online store, with great success. But then again, you’d expect them to convert well with their products.

      Have a look at Geico Insurance. This is a company that sells Insurance for Motor and Household. They don’t have a physical store or product, yet they convert fans into clients by engaging on a level that isn’t sale pitchy.

      Closer to home however, companies are still shouting. In fact, the banks seem to have a decent understanding of how to engage their customers online. And yet, some don’t even offer comprehensive online banking… which is worth noting.

      Long term tactics

      Adopting a strategy of ‘Everything leads towards a Conversion’ as opposed to ‘Shout and they will come!’ is a better tactic long term. Building good customer rapport on social networks, will undoubtedly lead to recurring sales down the line. And this will promote people to share their experiences with other likeminded individuals, who will more than likely start their own customer lifecycle with your brand.

      Recently, big B2C (business to consumer) brands and businesses have started using social as a means to connect with their customers at a level their customers understand and feel comfortable with. But many have missed the point all together.

      People that associate themselves with a brand via a social network do so for three reasons.

      The first is that they are genuine fans of that product. More often than not that product, or brand, is far out the reach of the majority of its fans. Ferrari is a good example.

      As a brand, this is a great position to be in as it establishes that your brand is highly desirable, or has a lot of public appeal. But ask yourself this: how valuable is that fan really?

      Second, and a more important reason, is that those fans have meaningful engagements with that brand via the social network of choice. They like to share the content that has been presented to them, and they want to engage with that brand because it asks them their opinion.

      The third reason lies with customer service. Social networks have created portals that lend themselves to B2C practices, but are actually more suited to C2B interactions.

      Twitter and customer relations

      Zor Gorelov, CEO of Speech Cycle, recently wrote an article in which he suggested that the call centre “will cease to be the primary channel between companies and their customers.” This is already ringing true for companies like Best Buy in the Us, which now has a dedicated Twitter account purely for customer relations.

      People feel more comfortable dealing with a company that is willing to engage them at their level. Consumers grow more loyal when their query is addressed in their medium of choice.

      In stark contrast, any unanswered queries on your Facebook wall or Twitter feed are visible to everyone, so it pays to have your site constantly monitored.

      But it’s the marketing potential of these social platforms that get the most airtime. And also get the most negative feedback.

      Encourage sharing

      Social is about sharing. Shout marketing, (ie splashing promotion after promotion onto a page) really doesn’t do what you’d expect it to. If anything, it encourages people to ‘unlike’ or ‘unfriend’ your page. The reason? Over population of pages, which in turn clog up the user’s homepage, are irritating. And look like spam.

      If you concentrate efforts on generating content that encourages people to share it amongst their followers and friends, your exposing your brand to a far greater audience.

      Think of them as brand ambassadors who aren’t on the payroll.

      Shane Oosthuizen

      Shane Oosthuizen

      Shane Oosthuizen is currently the chief copywriter at one of SA's leading digital agencies. Having spent a number of years in the creative arena, he has forged a reputable authority in the South African social and online marketing community.

      Quick Links

      • Business Plan Advice
      • Business Plan Format Guide
      • Business Plan Format
      • Sample Business Plans

      NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP

      Sign-up for Weekly ExpertHub Updates

      * indicates required




      EXPERT INSIGHTS

      Startup Content Marketing: 3 Things To Do Right Now

      Startup Content Marketing: 3 Things To Do Right Now

      by Frank Hamilton

      Content marketing has become so popular that brands both big and small eagerly use it in almost every marketing campaign....

      Work Life Balance - Morning Mindset Practices

      Morning Mindset Practices Are Key To Maintaining Balance

      by Sheila Vaske

      Work / Life balance is a huge topic these days, and one that really needs some attention. I hear it...

      Must-Have Mindset for Business and Leadership Success

      Must-Have Mindset For Business and Leadership Success

      by Laura Di Franco

      Business and leadership success start with a discipline of mindset moves, including having fun with your fear.

      Improve Customer experience

      7 Methods Merchants Can Use To Transform the Customer Experience

      by Frank Hamilton

      How You Can Transform Your Customer Experience And Why It Is Important

      • HOME
      • LAUNCH
      • BUSINESS
      • LEADERSHIP
      • MONEY
      • SUCCESS
      • NEWS
      • About Us
        • Write for Us
        • Paid Content Services
        • Contact Us
      • About Us
      • Write for Us
      • Paid Content Services
      • Contact Us
      • Terms & Conditions
      • Data Privacy Policy
      • Privacy Policy
      • Sitemap

      Copyright © 2022 ExpertHub.info
      Revenue Growth Experts

      No Result
      View All Result
      • HOME
      • LAUNCH
      • BUSINESS
      • LEADERSHIP
      • MONEY
      • SUCCESS
      • NEWS
      • About Us
        • Write for Us
        • Paid Content Services
        • Contact Us

      Copyright © 2022 ExpertHub.info
      Revenue Growth Experts

      Login to your account below

      Forgotten Password?

      Fill the forms bellow to register

      All fields are required. Log In

      Retrieve your password

      Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

      Log In