Using Social Media to boost business

This is a topic that I have been considering for some time. As an avid Twitter user, I have observed companies using Twitter to boost their business. Some do this well, some not so well.

This will do as an excuse to post this pic

My background is not in media studies, I am looking at this purely as a consumer. If I were running a company instead of a family, I would be looking to increase interest in my brand. In the same way that bloggers seek to increase interest in their blog, and websites seek to increase interest in their site.

Interestingly, it is not always the big names who do this well. The companies, or brands, who do this successfully follow a few basic rules, I have observed:

1. Don't do it half-heartedly.
If you are going to use Twitter, then use it. Don't say to the office junior, "You are young, sure to have your "finger on the pulse" of what young folk want. You can do the Twitter account". This is not a job for someone who does not know your product, or your brand. Or does not have the time to dedicate a couple of hours a day to it. Ideally they should be able to check constantly so that they can respond to queries and comments.

 An example of doing it half-heartedly is Oven Pride - I blogged about the product a week or so ago. And tweeted a link, @oven-pride. No response. Nothing. And look at their Twitter feed - barely any followers, and only 7 tweets.

2. Do it with humour
Getting consumers to follow your Twitter feed is easier if it is not all just boring, "Look at our product, isn't it great?". Allow your Twitter-rep to joke with consumers, maybe post links to other sites that are - loosely - linked to your products or brand. This is a fine line to walk, but worth it as potential customers will actually want to follow your Twitter feed.

Marks and Spencers have shaken off their fuddy-duddy image and are showing others how this is done. This week I posted this response to M&S

This was their reply

3. Post regularly

My favourite jewellery designer Monica Vinader posts a couple of times a day; enough to stay interesting but not too often to start to annoy followers. If I look at your Twitter feed and see that the last post was two weeks ago, then I am unlikely to follow you. 

4. Reply to followers

It is boring to follow someone who doesn't reply. This also goes for slebs, most of whom don't bother to reply to tweets. Ok, they are followed by thousands but an occasional RT or reply would not go amiss. The same applies to companies - if your customers speak to you, then answer. And follow some of those following you. Writers are not companies, or brands, but they are trying to sell us something - their books. Some writers, such as Jill Mansell, Katie Fforde reply to their readers, using Twitter as it is intended to be used - as a  interactive tool. 

5. Search for comments 

Have a constant search set up so that whenever a customer mentions your company or product, you can respond to it. This can be a consumer complaining about your product, to which you should take the time to get in touch and try to sort out the problem. Or it could be a compliment, which you can RT to your followers.  Don't however do as Asda do - and only react to a customer complaint when the customer creates a Social Media storm - I have seen two instances in the past 6 months where customers have been left with no groceries, and no refund of payment after a computer glitch in Asda's systems meant that a home shopping delivery was cancelled. Only when the customer posted on Mumsnet, and the thread was subsequently posted on Twitter was the issue resolved.

Twitter and other Social Media websites can be great for businesses - see the success of the Babyliss Big Hair due to posts on blogs and comments on Twitter. I had over 1000 hits on my review of the Babyliss Big Hair - over a period of several months, then the product was featured in several national newspapers. Suddenly I had hundreds of hits a day, until I took the post down as I had photos of myself on it and I was wary of the privacy aspect. When I googled the product, my face was on page one of the google image searches, which was slightly unsettling. 

Using Social Media to promote your business can backfire, as Microsoft discovered to their horror when they promised to donate a $1 to the Japan quake fund for every RT of their Tweet from their search engine Bing's twitter account. They later apologised  and promised to donate $100k to the Japanese earthquake fund.

Old Spice showed how it could be done. 

The campaign with actor Isaiah Mustafa was incredibly successful - even MrLindt was tempted to buy Old Spice deo when he was on a business trip to US, culminating in a "remake" of the Old Spice ads here in Geneva. 

What companies do you follow and which ones have you swiftly unfollowed, and why?