Friday, April 27, 2012
For millions of people, social media is a component of daily life. Every day, people log onto Facebook, Twitter and other sites to read others' thoughts and share their own. A recent IBM survey found that 80 percent of respondents owned a minimum of one account on a social networking site, and nearly half held accounts on media-sharing websites.
Considering social media's prominence, it is no wonder that businesses are increasingly interested in harnessing its power to promote their brands and increase their customers and clients. However, the IBM survey also found that most social media users do not use the medium to communicate with businesses. Of those that do, most indicated that they would not interact with a business unless they believed it was communicating honestly.
To overcome these obstacles and make social CRM effective, Tineka Smith of Computer Business Review argues that organizations must be outgoing and innovative. It is not enough to use a social media page for press releases and standard promotions. Rather, organizations must offer incentives, such as exclusive offers and discounts, to attract individuals to their pages.
Additionally, she recommends business strive to create innovative campaigns that are fun and entertaining. By doing so, new users will begin to comment on and discuss the organization, yielding valuable CRM data.
