Are You Talking to Me?
Yes, thanks to social media. And the best companies are listening. Established rules of communicating with customers are unraveling, driven by a shift in how we use the Internet. Emails and corporate websites are fast being replaced by Facebook and Twitter, where customers and employees alike have been liberated from the control of marketing and customer-service reps. While many companies embrace the opportunities in these new two-way communications tools, social media brings a host of new problems, such as how to measure communications and keep employees on message—and in legal compliance. So, new rules are emerging. Here are five of the best practices from companies that have grappled with social media.
Dr Pepper spent years building its 8.5 million-strong fan base on Facebook. Now, careful tracking and testing with those Facebook users who say they “like” the soft drink helps the brand figure out how to hone its marketing messages. It blasts out two messages daily on its Facebook fan page, and then listens to the fans’ reactions. Using tools from Facebook and New York-based software-and-design agency Code & Theory, Dr Pepper can measure how many times a message is viewed, how many times it is shared with other Facebook users and what fan responses say. “We mine the data to understand what is appreciated, and what is not,” says Robert Stone, director of interactive media services for Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc.
For example, the company learned that diehard Dr Pepper fans like edgy one-liners. One of the best-performing messages: “If liking you is wrong, we don’t want to be right.” And they dislike messages that focus on prices and special offers. “It just isn’t relevant to their passion about the brand,” Mr. Stone says. Measuring the social conversation is step one for any brand. “If a company is going to engage in social media, they have to listen and understand the nature of the conversation, the volume and the topics being discussed,” says Susan Etlinger, an analyst at Altimeter Group, an advisory firm in San Mateo, Calif. The effort has helped to persuade more Dr Pepper fans to pass on messages about the brand to their own Facebook friends—winning free word-of-mouth marketing buzz. The data have also helped the company adjust its brand messaging for TV commercials. “It helps shape what we are,” says Mr. Stone.
TEARS FOR FEARS – SHOUT
Excited to see women on the horizon! Asiance needs to do more articles on these women.
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I, too, hope that Asiance considers writing an article about these artists with whom The Westfall Music Group is producing and promoting.