More and more companies are starting to understand and manipulate the power and massive influence Facebook users and their social groups can have on their companies’ online image, publicity and brand.
Whilst trying to keep ahead of their competitors in the digital revolution, they set up their accounts and everything seems great. Unfortunately these same companies have already started to experience some slowing down and negative reactions on Facebook, mainly to what they felt were informative news stories, press releases and general product or service information. They also reported their group had stopped growing and there was no interaction between the brand and group members or even between the members themselves.
The answer to this problem is fairly straightforward when you realise and understand that there are two groups of tools, social media tools and social networking tools, and they are meant to be used differently. So, it’s very important that you use the correct tools for the job:
It’s not unusual for people to get confused about what is what: the company was simply using Facebook, a social networking tool, to create content rather than to stimulate conversations and interactions with like-minded people. The company information was generally straight news or facts and wasn’t suited to generating conversations and connections. You can now understand that Facebook was the wrong tool for the job.
One thing to confuse matters even more in Digital Marketing is that content and conversations are often intertwined editorially. Normally you would lead with content if you choose a social media strategy, but don’t abandon conversation: you simply don’t lead with conversation. Good conversation and connections linked with good content are a very powerful thing. That’s why it’s important to comment in blogs. It’s the conversation aspect of that particular social media tool.
The bottom line is this, if you choose a social media tool for your Digital Marketing strategy, lead with content and then follow up and continue to connect with people in conversations there. If you choose a social networking tool, lead with conversations and connections and then create great content, to keep the good conversations going.
