When human interaction is brought into the digital world and when media does not only talk to you but you can create a conversation with media, we have what we call today social media. We think of social media today as the interactions that take place via the Internet. However, social media was present even before the Internet. Calling into your local radio station is a form of social media. Replying to a classifieds ad on the newspaper is a form of social media.

What further launched social media in the past decade is the medium that we know as the Internet. When interactions can be held at a much larger scale, with more people, using more tools, and with faster connection speeds, social media happens at a much larger scale. Therefore, other than your neighbours knowing what you are having for dinner, the whole world can potentially know. That is where companies get awry about the usage of social media and don’t know how to handle it. They are speaking to a larger audience, handling more inquiries, moving slower than the speed at which the world is watching and talking about them, and not being able to predict or control what is being communicated. These things make them very nervous. However, when used correctly, social media can be a powerful medium to skyrocket your business.

Join The Conversation

Do not try to control it, rather listen, respond, and create conversations once in a while as needed. Again, social media is an interaction, a conversation between two or more parties. The more you engage in the conversation with people, the more they will remember your brand.

Social Media is About Strategy and Engagement, Not Budget

There are many great examples of companies who have leveraged social media to build their brand without having to spend huge budgets on traditional media. Take Dell for example.

Back in 2008, the company launched a campaign on Facebook called ‘ReGeneration’ that leveraged one of the more popular Facebook applications at the time, named Graffiti. The company defined goals for this campaign, which was branding Dell products as green and eco-friendly to spur affinity towards the brand from a growing number of environmentally-conscious consumers.

Their strategy for this project was to work with a social media agency to launch a contest that involved creating art using Graffiti around the theme ‘What does green mean to you?’. The contest is a little different than the conventional ones in that the winner is chosen by the community. Over 1,000,000 votes were cast. That’s a whole lot of engagement. The prize: an environmentally friendly Dell monitor.

This example shows that Dell created a successful campaign using one of the most popular applications on a social media website by devising a plan to carry out their goals and strategies.

Get a Social Media Manager

It’s not about setting a few accounts on Twitter and Facebook and posting a few items. But rather, social media work has to be nurtured and you need to understand what works and what doesn’t. Have a person who knows your brand or business manage your social media. This person is essentially going to be the representative of your online image. Therefore, a good social media manager would be someone who is friendly, thoughtful, patient, creative, detail-oriented, understands communications, thinks like a journalist, and enjoys participating on social networks. Someone who is sociable is something to consider.

Embrace It

Finally, social media is here to stay. Use it to achieve your marketing goals and make sure to include it in your plans. Not every company will need a blog or a YouTube account, but you have to look at your business and business models to determine how best to benefit from social media tools.