CMI Web Studio

Two separate studies have been released over the past week that show why people “friend” and “follow” brands on sites like Facebook and Twitter.

The first, from Google, looked at Facebook. The study found that 55 percent of Facebook users do not friend or “like” any brands on Facebook. Of those who do, 18 percent become a fan of one or two brands, 11 percent do so for three or four brands, 10 percent five to nine brands and just 6 percent ten or more brands. And why do they become fans?

25 percent to receive discounts and promotions
18 percent to show others they support the brands
10 percent because it’s fun and entertaining
8 percent to hear new info first

The second study comes from ExactTarget and surveyed Twitter users ages 15 and up. They found that:

38 percent of users follow brands to get updates on future products
31 percent to receive discounts and promotions
30 percent to get updates on upcoming sales
28 percent to get a “freebie”

The writing is on the wall. Your top business social networking priorities should be to offer discounts and promotions, and to keep users informed about product releases and other company news that will benefit the user. This does not mean announcing a new CFO, but rather a new product line, an update to an exisiting product or news about how your products can help improve consumers’ quality of life, for example.

Of course, discounts and promotions loom large. Build a value system with users by rewarding their loyalty with discounts and you are likely to see new fans and followers. And, don’t stop at promoting this strategy solely on networks – make sure your website provides links to your network profiles and informing users that, by becoming a fan or follower, they can expect discounts and promotions. As always, set a strategy including well-defined limits. After all, you don’t want to give away the store should a discount go viral.

The latest installment of a series of reports on the impact of social media, conducted by ROI Research Inc. and sponsored by Performics, examines how consumers use social networking sites to get advice on what to purchase; how they give advice on companies and products, and whether they post content specific to various industries.

According to the survey, the most highly discussed verticals on social networks were automotive (61 percent), travel (60 percent) and entertainment (57 percent). When it comes to social networkers seeking or sharing recommendations on local retailers, however, home furnishings led all categories, including automotive.

Other highlights of the study include the following:

• 56 percent of respondents are fans of appliance brands or retailers on Facebook
• 49 percent of respondents most often use social networking sites to seek advice on electronics purchases
• 49 percent of respondents discuss apparel on social networking sites to compare prices
• 49 percent of respondents follow automotive brands or retailers on Twitter
• 38 percent of respondents most often use social networking sites to give advice about financial services and home furnishings companies or products
• 26 percent are likely to make an automotive purchase as a result of a recommendation someone posted on a social networking site (higher than any other vertical)
• 23 percent of respondents follow at least one travel company on either Facebook or Twitter

The results were compiled over 2009 and 2010, and seem to confirm social media’s heavy impact on the retail landscape. While marketers remained unconvinced until relatively recently, the fact that businesses are increasing their advertising spends on Facebook by up to 20 times more than last year’s amounts is a clear indication that the doubt has subsided.

Much of the discussion throughout the Web industry this week has revolved around Thursday’s announcement of Google Instant, the revolutionary new feature that has many business owners wondering about the future of search engine marketing in particular and Internet advertising as a whole. There was some other news, however, that Google may have hoped you missed, as it shifts the marketing conversation from search to social – specifically, away from Google and directly on to Facebook.

New data from comScore has revealed that time spent on Facebook in the U.S. during the month of August surpassed the time spent on Google sites for the first time in history. That includes all of Google’s properties – as in YouTube, Gmail, Google Buzz, the whole lot of them. This adds to the momentum sparked by a similar report from Hitwise back in March, when Facebook became the most visited site in the U.S. for the first time in its short but meteoric history.

Of course these are significant milestones for any company, but what do they mean for the future of the industry? Will looking for content on search engines be overtaken by the sharing of content on social networks? Or, according to the statistics, has that happened already?

Because of these milestones and Facebook’s growing base of more than 500 million active users, it may be time to take another look at how your business is utilizing the social network. We will review some of the different ways that companies can leverage the enormous popularity of Facebook – and also be on the lookout for the feature article 500 Million Ways to Earn from Facebook in the upcoming November issue of Website Magazine.

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1. Using Twitter is Simple; Using it Well is a Challenge

However complicated it may seem when you first log on to your new account, Twitter is a simple platform.

You can write 140-character updates that will be seen by your followers and also watch a news stream of comments left by people you follow. To direct a comment at a specific follower, simply prefix their name with “@” — for example, “@kevgibbo + your message.”

Send a direct message (one that can’t be seen by anyone other than the recipient) by prefixing a name with a “d” — for example: “d kevgibbo + your message.”

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Twitter has also created new grammar — the hashtag. This allows people to conduct simple searches and see what people are saying about a topic — for example, #leadersdebate during the U.K. election.

Some people use the hashtag ironically or to convey humor, without expecting their chosen term to catch on. For example, someone might tweet about how marvellous their recent SEO campaign has been and then add #modesty.

That’s the bare bones of using Twitter. Using it effectively is much, much harder, which you’ll see in the next nine tips.

2. Twitter Needs a Strategy

Before you begin investing time and energy in Twitter, sit down and work out what you want to use it for. Using Twitter only because everyone else is using it won’t win you success.

Do you want to build small scale relationships or market a major brand? Do you intend to actually drive business using your Twitter account or simply drive people to your website?

Unless you know your goals, you won’t be able to measure your success.

3. Your Account Must Look Professional

Before you start using your Twitter account, make sure it looks professional. Update your bio, add the company logo as an avatar, and customize your page.

Some people’s first interaction with your brand will be via Twitter, so make sure it’s as professional as your website and office space.

4. You Should Search for Mentions…

Monitor Twitter for mentions of your brand, products, well-known staff — any terms that people might conceivably use in reference to you.

Twitter will present you with any specific mentions of your account name but you can also run searches. Using software like TweetDeck allows you to set up permanent searches and be presented with relevant tweets as they happen.

5. …and Reply

You’re using Twitter in order to have conversations with people. If there’s a positive mention of your brand, thank the person who made it. If it’s negative, then get your customer service team to address the problem — often a positive resolution can turn a critic into a fan. If someone asks a question then answer it.

Be as polite on Twitter as you would be at a conference or some other industry event where you deal with people in person.

6. Spamming Harms Brands

Several brands (and even politicians) have fallen down on Twitter because they don’t really understand how people use it. The platform is social and has to be used socially. If you’re intrusive, you’ll alienate the people you want to win over.

Tweet links to blog posts, comments, thoughts, questions, even special offers now and again. But don’t simply pour out sales pitches. People won’t follow you and anyone encountering your tweets won’t leave with a good impression of your brand.

By the way, following thousands of people to try and build your own followers is spam, even if you aren’t sending them sales pitches.

7. Automated Actions are Useless

Twitter needs to be hand fed because it’s all about quality, not quantity. You can’t automate personable, social tweeting.

Also, the roll-out of top tweets means that quality is already beginning to be more rewarded, while those aiming for quantity of tweets will quickly gain a bad reputation as spammers!

By auto-following new followers, retweeting mentions, and automatically tweeting blog posts, you may have a working Twitter account, but it won’t be working well.

8. Your Followers Want Value

Why should people follow you on Twitter? What will they get out of it? Whether it’s humorous tweets, inspired analysis and tips, links to fascinating blog posts, industry breaking news, or discount vouchers, you must add value to their Twitter experience.

Otherwise you’re spamming and you’ll struggle to gain any followers.

9. Make Your Tweets Retweetable

You may only have a few followers — certainly at first. So you want your followers to retweet your posts to their followers, spreading the word about your brand. If your tweets are valuable enough, then that shouldn’t be a problem.

Also, make it easy for people to retweet. Keep your comment as short as possible because, when people retweet it, they will have to add “RT username” at the start. If you’ve used all 140 characters, then people will have to edit your words or chop off the link — or, even worse, use the new retweet button!

10. Twitter Magnifies Mistakes

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Get it wrong on Twitter and you risk a storm of mockery, especially if your brand is well known. Or, if a disgruntled employee tweets something abusive from your corporate account, it could be retweeted hundreds of thousands of times before the company even knows it’s happened.

Even a small brand that tweets too intrusively will find that recipients complain to their followers.

When you work out your strategy, work out some ground rules and make sure that everyone using your account understands them.

Doing social media badly is far worse than failing to do it. So behave well on the platform and treat people as you would like to be treated.