Rules of engagement

Social-networking sites are purported to be ideal platforms for mixing marketing with social media, but how eager is the average user to consume information on your brand after the first five dozen fruit juice brands or t-shirt companies have canvassed them into joining their Facebook group? Is there a risk of targeting a jaded audience?

Recent research from the UK’s Internet Advertising Bureau suggests that this is the case: almost one third of social networkers say they are tired of the constant barrage of invites to join one group or try out another.

Alternatively, take a look at micro-blogging site Twitter: is the average company actually talking about their brand advantage or perhaps too busy tweeting from the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and everywhere in between?

Because social media is about personalising your brand and getting closer to your audience it can be difficult to know where to draw the line.

With mixed messages, a multitude of free services and more than enough users to keep you company 24/7, is the audience suffering from social media overload and are you adding to the noise? Lauren Fisher, co-founder of online PR and social media firm Simply Zesty, says this is definitely a possibility but that it shouldn’t put brands off participating in social media.

“It should instead encourage them to consider social-media as an important part of the marketing mix that requires the same consideration and planning as traditional marketing methods.

“A lot of issues like this arise when companies jump in to social media without devising a proper strategy or implementing enough organisation internally.

“I believe that as many people as possible within a company should be active within social media, but there needs to be a strategy and direction behind it, as much as the organic nature of social media allows this.”

Fisher gives the example of a message she ‘tweeted’ or wrote on Twitter recently, explaining a problem she was having with Skype. She received a reply from the official Skype account linking her to a page on its website that answered her query.

In contrast, a few weeks previously Fisher had put out a neutral message about another company and instead of a helpful reply has been ‘followed’ by three new accounts related to the company and received three new replies that simply acknowledged her tweet. Mere noise.

“My impression of Skype? Helpful, organised and understanding of social media. My impression of the second company was less positive. It seemed that employees had been told to get on Twitter, as it’s the next big thing, but didn’t really understand it, or why they were even using it,” added Fisher.

“This shouldn’t discourage companies from participating in social media, but highlights the need to understand the space, and, more importantly, the conversations you’re participating in.”

And companies are increasingly seeing the need to participate in social media: recent figures from Irish business and consumer market research firm iReach show that 67pc of 18–24 year olds cite social-media services like Facebook and Bebo as one of their main online activities, while 56pc and 38pc of 25–29 year olds and 30–34 year olds respectively make the same claim.

Understanding the difference between traditional marketing reach and social media is the key to harnessing this growing audience, says Paul Anthony, founder of marketing, web design and development company Web Distortion.

“Things have changed quite a bit. Social media isn’t, in my opinion, anything like TV, radio or print because they are one-way conversation. You tune into TV, you listen to radio, you read print, but the visitor interaction is minimal. With social media it’s all about the interaction, and the conversation with customers is much more diverse,” he explains.

“Yes, there is quite a bit of wheat to separate from the chaff,” admits Anthony, but that is “to be expected with anything that has exploded so quickly”.

“Everyone wants ‘in on the action’ but the people that are making headway are the ones who are engaging with their customer base using pull marketing techniques rather than the traditional ‘push marketing’ strategies.

“If you have something interesting to say, your listeners will tune into your channel. The key is to give, give, give to an audience – not just on topics related to your business. Offer advice via Twitter, offer useful articles on your blog, and you will be found.”

Social media only wins business through the back door, says Anthony, and companies must remember that its chief purpose is to reinforce other marketing channels such as word of mouth.

Anthony doesn’t think there is such a thing as being too active through social-media channels, but rather if your company is being perceived as harassing the audience then you’re doing it wrong.

“The key thing is that you should engage as you would a conversation at a network meeting. You wouldn’t sit around listening for someone talking about service ‘x’ and then jump in and shove your service down their throats; but if you overhear an occasional question looking for advice, and it’s useful and relevant, then it’s okay to butt in politely and suggest your service or product,” he says.

Also, firms should not expect instant friendships and need to realise that when people seek out brands to interact with online they are either sufficiently motivated by a positive experience or simply want to complain.

“Online it is usually the latter!” says Fisher.

“What brands need to do is find out how they can add to the conversation and really bring something of value to users. This approach is best achieved by taking the time to listen.

“I can’t emphasise enough how important it is that you are monitoring the ‘space’ (whether this is Twitter, forums, blogs, etc.) instead of launching in and talking at people straight away.

“This approach won’t work and you’ll probably come out with damaged brand image.”

Ultimately, Fisher believes that social-media users are looking for brands to ‘lighten up’ and not be afraid to have a personality: “Corporate speak doesn’t lend itself to the social-media space and it’s surprising how many brands still do not understand this.”

On the flip side, you may be managing to avoid headaches for your audience by blogging, tweeting and ‘Facebooking’ relevant, non-intrusive information. However, social-media harassment can come in another form: the more you engage the less time you have for your actual day job.

“Is the answer to switch it all off? I don’t think so. It is important to keep abreast of what is going on online,” says Conor Lynch, founder of networking site Connector.ie and veteran of social media marketing with previous experience in agencies including Eighty:Twenty.

“I do think everyone has to look at the amount of hours they are channeling into social media, but on the plus side it can be the silver bullet for a lot of marketers as long as they keep up with the latest tools and services.

“Being an early adopter is advantageous because it gives you a foothold early on, but you must balance between the time you dedicate to using tools like Facebook and Twitter and becoming complacent by settling for one particular outlet,” explains Lynch.

As for noise: “What noise?” says Lynch. “Simply put, the more relevant your brand communication is the less noisy it appears. Know what you want to say and who you want to say it to.”

This article first appeared in Marketing Age magazine.