mujeresdempresa.com: Facebook es el sitio social media elegido por la mayoría de los comercios minoristas online en los Estados Unidos, según el estudio realizado en agosto 2008 por Internet Retailer y Vovici. Casi un tercio de los que respondieron tienen una página en Facebook.
En septiembre de 20008 también la empresa Roseta, que sigue a los 100 principales negocios al detalle online en EE.UU. comentaba que 59 de los 100 tiene una página en Facebook, 30 más que en mayo de ese mismo año.
Adam Cohen, socio en Roseta, declaraba en una entrevista para eMarketer: ?Los sitios Social media sigen siendo una importante fuente de conecciones con la comunidad y los comerciantes minoristas experimentados están cosechando los beneficios de la rápida extensión de Facebook en las nuevas demografías como la Generación X y la gente mayor"
Cuando
tratamos estos temas bastante novedosos, alguna gente piensa que los
ejemplos son válidos solamente para los Estados Unidos y por
lo tanto
son de poca importancia en entornos menos actualizados
"tecnológicamente" como los de América Latina y
el mercado español.
A pesar de que mucha gente sigue todavía sin comprender los beneficios de Internet y hasta algunas personas me han contestado que no usan social media pues consideran que tienen bastante exposición (¿cuándo es bastante exposición para nuestra actividad?), la social media se extiende entre el público hispano y como consecuencia, el social media marketing.
¿Qué mejor prueba que saber que Chile es el segundo país en cantidad de usuarios de Facebook? Además es el de mayor número de usuarios con respecto a su población total. Y que Colombia es el país con más usuarios registrados.
Pueden estar usandolo mal o bien, pero lo están usuando y por algo se empieza.
Social Media for business
5 Social Media Best Practices for Business
Categories: Social Media, Best Practices, Marketing
Tags: business
Social networks and blogs are changing how consumers find places and services, how and where they share their experiences, and eventually, where they will spend their time and money. Without an understanding of, and participation in, social networks, you can miss shaping and contributing to the decision-making process of those who define the success of your business.
While social media cheat-sheets and short cuts are available almost everywhere you look, the truth is that we have some work ahead of us. To help, I’ve assembled a list of five best practices to help you build, cultivate, and measure success in the new web right now.
1. Dedicate the time
We’re all very busy and our to-do list is never ending. Because time is a big concern, think about social media as an opportunity cost. Will your investment in identifying and connecting with prospects, customers, and influencers outperform your other activities? The answer is yes for most businesses, so carve out time for strategic experimentation. In short, you get out of it, what you invest.
2. Conquer your fears
Many business owners believe that social media gives people a chance to criticize their business. That’s true, but avoiding social media doesn’t mean that their opinions will never see the light of day. Your brand is at the mercy of those who take to social media to share their experiences, so you might as well take an active role to contributes to the stature and perception of your brand. You might even learn how to improve your product and service in the process.
3. Listen and research to learn and contribute
Social networking is far more effective when you realize that creating profiles and updating social networks aren’t arbitrary. There’s an art and science to all of this, and the process begins with listening and research. Step one: create a list of keywords that represent your market and then use the search box in each social network to see what people are saying about you. As you examine the results, you’ll identify the people who are leading conversations and the dialogue that invites and inspires participation. If local business is paramount to success, use services such as Twitter, Facebook, Yelp, LinkedIn. Also monitor location-based networks such as Foursquare, Gowalla, and Loopt.
4. Establish an attractive and expansive presence
Your presence online is far more valuable than you may realize. While you may think that you should focus on your website, your social-media presence also represents you and what you offer. The ability to showcase your products and services to attract customers and spark conversation is arguably greater on social networking sites than your own website. In any case, connecting the dots between social networks, websites, and the real world is now as important as the service and products that you offer.
5. Use engagement as the new customer service and marketing
It’s not what you say about you, it’s what they say about you that counts. Customer service and engagement overall is a new and genuine form of unmarketing. Customers, prospects, and influencers are already engaging with others to contribute, learn, and discover. They are forming and sharing opinions and making decisions based on the information they find online—with or without you. You should use engagement as a fast, free, and powerful way to reach and serve customers.
This is your time to engage! Doing so will earn you permanent residence in the hearts and minds of the people who make up your markets. This will expand market opportunities, build brand awareness, stimulate demand, and engender loyalty and advocacy.
Originally published on American Express OPEN Forum
Connect with Brian Solis on Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Google Buzz, Facebook
Please consider reading, Engage!: It might just change the way you think about Social Media
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