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Making the Most Out of Social Media for Your Organization

Guest post by: Jennifer Loftus

Article Overview: In terms of marketing, digital marketing can help tremendously…if done right. For instance, page activity doesn’t always equate to new sales or qualified candidates for position openings. For organizations just testing out the waters of social media, this can be very frustrating. How does one use Social Media to his / her organization’s advantage in this digital age?

Making the Most Out of Social Media for Your Organization

First, you need to know what your goals are. Do you want to gain exposure? Engage your clients/customers? Generate interest among new candidate pools? Increase revenue directly from social media? This is the very first topic that must be addressed, as the answers determine how your organization will approach and maintain its relationship with social media. David Rogers, author of, “The Network Is Your Customer: Five Strategies to Thrive in a Digital Age,”breaks downsocial media measurement in three forms:

· Activity Metrics:This form of digital marketing measuring includes site visits, “Facebook Fans,” or number of members of your online brand community. This is the lowest level of digital metrics.

· Engagement Metrics:This form measures the type of activity taken on the organization’s page; how long are they staying on the page, as well as the percentage of comments and interactivity among members, and between the organization and its digital users.

· Business Metrics:Direct sales through digital media; generation of leads or candidates. If you feature a space for recommendations, feedback, and suggestions to improve the organization’s products, services, or hiring process, how often are these suggestions reviewed and actually tested/implemented?

Although David Rogers highlights that digital marketing doesn’t really “pay off” unless you’re measuring at the “Business Metrics” level, for organizations not looking for a profit, or merely desiring exposure, “Activity” and “Engagement” are sufficient measurement levels as well.

Now that you have determined what your goals are for “SoMe,” and how you will measure your digital marketing, another question presents itself…how do you attract and encourage digital users to your organization?

Here are some helpful tips:

· Build Your Team:David Rogers notes5 departmentsthat should be involved in your digital marketing strategy. Developing a SoMe strategy should not be a stand-alone endeavor. These departments will help your organization to address the needs and concerns involved in social media with respect to your organizational goals for using SoMe:

§ Information Technology

§ Public Relations/Communications

§ Customer Service

§ Human Resources

§ Innovation

· If you offer customer or candidate interaction…really deliver it:Delta Air Lines uses Twitter to connect with its customers. Employees are trained with an emphasis on“Twitter Watch.” Such training helped bridge the gap between using social media just as marketing and offering customer service. Through Twitter, Delta is able to do both!

· Offer special content on your digital media to draw customers:On MAC cosmetics’ Facebook page, fans are encouraged to play a social game called,“Cute Pinball”. Users can place their scores on their personal pages, and invite friends to play with them. The clothing company Aèropostale uses its Facebook page to send itsFacebook fans exclusive coupons, and recently encouraged users to help them receive a certain number of “likes.” Once the desired numbered of “likes” were gained, Aèropostale unlocked a secret code allowing Facebook fans to receive t-shirts for only $5.

While every organization’s goal in using social media for their organization differs, all organizations can use social media to their best advantage. Why not evaluate your organization’s strategy today? As this world becomes more digitized, and candidate pools become more entrenched in connecting almost exclusively through Social Media, implementing some targeted digital strategies can prove helpful in growing your organization and attracting successful employees.

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Article Tags: HR, Marketing and Social Media, Social Media, Social Media and HR



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