I have just watched a fantastic news clip from Sky News from last Friday (12th Nov), called Technology Behind Business where they interview a panel of Australian Social Media experts.
If you haven’t got 13 mins to watch the interview in full, I have summarised it below. Some great content, especially how they summarise Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin from a business perspective. Also, I enjoyed listening to hear the Aussie accent for a change 
Summary:
It starts off introducing the topic by saying that
SME’s (small to medium sized businesses) view Social Media as the “unknown” with more than 50% currently shying away from it …
[I would say anecdotedly that the NZ % would probably be higher],
but that more than 77% are planning to use it in the future. (Optus Media study)
This is Big!
Large businesses getting into Social Media [some do it really well in NZ, eg. Air New Zealand and Deloitte NZ]
But Small businesses are just starting to – and there are great opportunities!
Social Media is a business term that is used to generate interest from consumers for business results – the difference between traditional media and Social Media is that you are joining a conversation in their space, versus interrupting a conversation to generate awareness… Jenny Bewes, Director of Social Media at Amnesia
The Panel summarised the different Social Media platforms as they apply to business:
- Facebook – talks about setting up a Facebook Page and then communicating with your customers through it. Discussed that smaller companies are starting to use FB and that there is a HUGE opportunity for these small businesses
- Linkedin is dedicated to business-people to broaden networks and drive their marketing. It has less of the chat and more talk about business. A place to gather info and offer services to each other. The other great thing about Linkedin is the reliable business referrals – even from outside of your direct network.
- Twitter – using this for business depends on who your target market is – are your consumers or their influencers on Twitter? Twitter works well for recruitment as you can appreciate the personality of the individual/business. Also good for relationship managment and customer service because of quick response and visibility. In addition, good for promoting special offers. The point was made, though, not to try to do everything in Twitter.
Measuring Return on Investment
ROI is important to business – some key points on ROI and Social Media:
Advocacy:
Social Media for small businesses = your personality. This makes for a level playing field.
Research shows that small businesses are apprehensive/afraid of something new
Key thing is measuring advocacy – Social Media is all about that
* The London School of Economics has proven that there is a direct relationship between advocacy and your bottom line
Sales:
If you sell or generate business online, then Sales are a clear metric (a daily-deals site in Australia gets 18% of their sales direct from Facebook! – that’s huge).
Offer a deal on your page for those people who are on it, because that a) rewards them for being a “fan” and b) keeps them coming back
Research:
Smaller retailers reinventing their business using social media.
Social Media is great for researching a new idea or product and for testing the market place before implementing change
