Social Media Can Work With all Products and Services
No matter how seemingly dull the product or listless the service, social media can enliven any sales or promotional strategy. It works relatively simply by cleverly integrating popular social networking tools with an otherwise ordinary looking website. Several websites, including www.cree.com and www.gopromotional.com enable visitors to have an entirely customizable experience which they can then share with their associates or competitors through social networking sites.
Cree, Inc. manufactures semi-conductors and LEDs. These products are hardly the stuff of which dreams are made of; yet, the company has garnered a fairly healthy following on Facebook and Twitter by virtue of syncing purchases of their product with Facebook updates and promotional videos. GoPromotional uses a similar strategy on Facebook and Twitter. In this case, the company sells promotional products such as pens and coffee mugs that can be customized by the individual or firm purchasing the material. When a firm of lawyers purchases a new set of pens, the company creates what they call a virtual sample page which allows the lawyers to post this purchase as an update to their Facebook or Twitter page with the simple click of a button. This posting works as a way not only to promote the lawyers to their clients and fellow law firms, but also to promote the company that sold the merchandise to them. The decision to post the update is voluntarily on the part of the purchaser, but ultimately benefits both parties and is technically completely free.
Social media has become its own branch of marketing, with several prestigious universities around the globe now offering courses dedicated to the topic. Both Columbia University and Harvard now have social media in their course rosters (LINK: http://www.inc.com/tech-blog/business-school-social-media-courses.html). It is not uncommon for larger firms to employ full-time social media strategists. Essentially, social media is the one place where the vast majority of internet users can be relied upon to spend some amount of time each week, if not each day. Facebook’s enormous multi-billion dollar estimated worth is in part based on the fact that is such a huge resource of “eyeballs,” to use advertising parlance.
Developing the integration between major social media sites and commercial websites is not a formulaic action; it requires creative thought. While Cree, Inc. produces a vast array of original content to keep its core customers tuned in and engaged, other businesses provide free samples of their product in order to reel in new clientele. ( NOTE THE INTEGRATION OF STOCK QUOTES ON BOTH FACEBOOK AND TWITTER). As an example, pioneering business comic book publisher SmarterComics relies on social media to help them bring in more customers. By simply “liking” the SmarterComics page on Facebook, an individual can receive a free copy of an e-Book. This helps SmarterComics bolster its rankings on Facebook, and gives the individual a tangible product all in exchange for simply clicking a button.
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