Consumers have become too savvy – traditional advertising isn’t working as well as it used to - partly because the way we shop and research our purchases has changed. Word of mouth is the primary factor in 20-50% of purchase making decisions (McKinsey 2010). We value recommendations from friends, family, peers or colleagues because they come from people whose opinions we respect and trust.
The enormous amount of choice we are faced with on and offline has led to consumers taking matters into their own hands. We are using each other’s opinions, reviews and experiences to make purchasing decisions. Advertising and marketing are generally one-way streets, shouting at the customer and hoping they’ll bite. Social media has introduced a new way of marketing, and its success is that it doesn’t feel like marketing at all…
Social media was created by our audience, by consumers, not by advertisers and marketers - therefore, if we want to be a part of it, we have to play by their rules, we have to offer genuine interaction, not just a commercial presence.
Consumers are finding you, not the other way around. They know what they want and they are willing to search for it. They will do their own research, find those skeletons in your closet, or your evangelistic fans singing your praises and make up their own minds. They are already talking about you, your brand, your products and your industry online. Why wouldn’t you want to be directly part of this process? If you can give them a reason to continue talking about you, and help shape those mentions into positive recommendations, then you’ll be getting massive exposure for free.
Social media platforms and networks allow you to connect with customers on a personal level and build a community around your brand, increasing awareness and site traffic, and encouraging trust in your product or services. They also provide an ideal sounding board for your fans, for anyone who has questions to ask, issues to raise or reviews to make.
This is where most companies start to back slowly away… “Isn’t it all a bit… well, public?”
Yep, and that’s why it works. People buy into the personality of a company; its humour, its ethic, its quality and the way it treats its customers. If you’re having second doubts because you think people are going to bad-mouth you, then perhaps it’s time to reassess why you think that might happen, and fix it. Far from opening yourself up to negativity, utilising social media allows you the opportunity to turn complainers into happy customers, and find out what aspects of your business need a tweak.
Social media is not something to be tacked on to your marketing division. It overlaps many different departments within your business, and needs to be integrated into the way your company works to be successful. Social media can be, and should be, implemented into marketing, communications, PR, customer services, research and development, design, IT... If you are going to do business online, social media needs to become second nature as a part of how you operate.
This is where Ikroh starts, by helping you to understand, embrace and integrate social media into your company. We can train your staff to manage and operate the tools and techniques they need, and help you create a social media policy for your business - before we even get down to your strategy.
Next we investigate the state of your online presence and what your audience's perception of your business is, finding out the best places to target for social media interaction, your brand’s strengths, weaknesses and potential. We are an extremely creative as well as a technically skilled team, and can be fully involved in digital PR, marketing campaigns, copywriting and advertising creation and design.
Together, we will work out your objectives and put in place monitoring and tracking to follow progress, keeping you in the loop with regular reports. It is a common misconception that social media cannot be measured - while it is impossible to squeeze the vast variety of platforms and outcomes that social media encompasses into a single chart, we can tangibly measure particular aspects of how social media affects and improves your business, be it raising awareness, increasing brand strength, advocacy, customer retention, site traffic, loyalty, improving customer service or the success of a specific promotion or campaign.
Your objectives and goals are unique, and at Ikroh, we recognise the importance of constantly adapting and adjusting to maximise success in everything we do for your company.
Our team are on hand to answer any questions you may have, so if there is anything at all you want to know than just drop us an email or call us on 01908 379938.
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