1. Know the system in which you operate and identify the gap

He had worked long enough in the journalism industry to realise that the businesss to know that the future of journalism is digital. Sometimes the business idea you need to be successful is all around, tou need to be fufiling a need in the market or else youa re on a stroll.

2. Understand Timing

Timing can just be the only business between a great idea nd a frustrating one. the net.ng started when most people had not considered going online as a veritable option. The execellent timing and the element of luck was responsible for our success.

3. Start small

Cashflow projI had spent 3 years searching for people and organisations who could fund my business idea for NGN10billion. I met the unwilling, relectant and deceptive type of investors whi wasted my time.

It was not until I got someone who told me all I needed was a portal to start the website and gave NGN 250,000 to the project. and so I started, without staff, office i began the journey called thenetng today

4. Don’t borrow, grow organically

Borrowing to an entrepreneur might have its negative effects; it can stiffle creative and also ensure you shift your attention form your attention from growing the business to looking for money.

5. Create a USP, and sell it from the word go

I had decided that our selling proposition was going to be the credible source of information about entertinment news in Nigeria and we stuck to the ethics and principles of journalism. Newspapers that thought online news reporting does not work are copying our work and quoting us on their news report. People call us to confirm news reports because for us, credibility has always been

6. Know the rules and break them

Sometimes rules put a limit on our creativity and those who suceed in impacting the world and find a way to push the limits. There are traditional unwritten rules that people follow traditionally; how to plan front pages, treat important staff members, methods and systems of running a business. While most of them have been based in historical events, the rapidly changing nature of human behaviour and technology makes some rules irrelevant.

We cannot say we have reached our peak but we are well positioned within the industry to move unto greater heights

People might take information from corporate blogs with a pinch of salt but they know it is still authoritative. While some organisations have established social media communication platforms, it is still not enough.  Most people may miss tweets and status updates especially if they are not watching Facebook every second and don’t check the history of their friends’ pages. However, you can certainly take advantage of content management systems like WordPress, Joomla and Tumblr plug-ins to ensure even people on your social networks are able to get your corporate information across to their peeps. But the world of business communication has changed and the blog is the best tool available (when done right) to address the challenges of life in the 140-character news cycle.

It is however not an oppportunity to chun out traditional press releases, blogging should be in conversational english and not the likes of  ” in the light of the foregoing” . Blogging offers a place for conversation and must be seen to be friendly, enhance connectivity and encurage responses. Some of the great advantages include;

Prompt response

Especially in the event of a crisis, a corporate blog becomes a potent tool of timely response. While rumors and false information may travel very fast in this age of social media, people will readily believe an authoritative blog when it releases information. Especially when it has been established for a long time, people will readily turn to official portals when they are looking for authentic information.

Consider during the #occupynigeria protests, information was been passed around that GTBank and Dangote, two of Nigeria’s leading brands were violating the labour union boycott office order, a press release by the organisation would have been 24 hours late. While some organisations were praying that mob action will not reach their ourganisations before the uprising mobilises to attack its offices, some took to Twitter, Facebook and Blackberry outposts to dispel the rumors, a corporate blog would have been a potent tool of response in correcting the misinformation in a matter of minutes instead of the hours it takes to publish a press release.

 Bypass the press

Most times the press won’t get your information out exactly the way you want it. Especiallywhen there are competing interests and for organisations when the corporate communications department whose frustrations are glaring after toasting and courting editors in getting your information into the news, you need to have your own digital press online. Especially when you need to respond to a damaging article in the press, it is annoying your response appears on a tiny segment lost in the middle of the newspaper as against the damaging article which made a page masthead.

One of the first persons to attempt this was the former MD of Cadbury Bunmi Oni who created a .blogspot address (here) in response to the boardroom boots given to him by Cadbury International.

Reach the press

The newspaper press have finally conceeded to trying to catch up with trending news on the internet and social media platforms in general. More and more newspapers are quoting blogs and bloggers as their source of information and even currently rely on social media sites for images and events. More and more reporters are spending their time combing Twitter and blogs for news and use them in reporting.  If reporters covering your industry know you have a blog and it is frequently updated, they are likely come be regular readers. bye-bye to bootlicking editors for media space (*wink)

Search Engine Optimization

With a blog linked to your corporate website, Google will fall in love with your site. It is no news that Google has a way of knowing frequently updated content and tend to rank them well. Done well, your corporate blog will rate you higher on search engines, driving more traffic to your site.

There’s a huge source of business prospects, clients and targets that come from search engine results queries. A large chunk of prospect comes from people who are entering exact phrases they are searching for (keywords) online and are hoping to get results that tally with their queries. Search engines love blogs and blogs will ensure you get the targeted customers.

Before you leverage on this trend, ther eare ponits to note;

1.      Blogging because your competitor is blogging is the first step to suicide for your brand image.  It should be aligned with your core business objectives.

2.     Decide to post regularly. Frequent posts will ensure people will always come for news before they are assured of new content. Linda Ikeji, a celebrity blogger is one of the bloggers who leverage on frequency and timeliness to build her blogging platform

3.    Don’t be busy using every opportunity to sell your products and services; its a likely put off

4.Be very strategic and tactical when it comes to responding to comments and accusations from your respondents

5.Don’t forget again, your blog is not another avenue for news release distribution except your are only reaching out to journalists

6.Know your audience. If the blog is focused on customers, address customer issues or problems. If your company or its product(s) has fans, skew your blog to those fans.

7.Accept comments, you want to communicate with your followers, init? Address comments that need addressing, either within the comments section or with follow-up blog posts.

8.Use a genuine voice. Use simple and straightforward english.  Avoid corporatese.

I will continue on impressive examples of great corporate blogs tomorrow.

However, if you’re looking at taking a huge chunk of the youth market and emerging young professionals, then you need to take a shot at using social media strategy to jump start your business.

Startups are not that easy, they are lean, they are hungry for success and they need to catch up with clients and keep a close eye on their industry. Many more internet startups are dying faster than traditional businesses and it is important to get to know what had been consistent thnigs that the few successful one did.

This infographic by some great guys at Udemy helps to summarise how social media can be used by startups to get off the ground.

by Column Five Media via

need to understand the synamics of promoting brands.

Here is a brautiful infograph to inform your brand promotion  strategies

based on researh by aytm (Ask Your Target Market). Enjoy

Source: AYTM Market Research

Social media in particular has become an epidemic that is transforming every business and economic sector. The impact of these new technologies and systems throw up new challenges and opens up opportunities to most professional especially  Public Relations professionals and those who are in the business of promoting brands on the Internet. For people and individuals seeking resources and websites, I have decided to post this comprehensive list provides by Bschool, an online resource for business professionals on interesting websites and posts on Social Media and PR.

1. PR Daily: Provides the latest PR news stories through this great tech-focused blog. Recommended post: “Report: PR pro is the second-most stressful job.”
2. PR Newser: If you’d like to see what other companies are putting out in press releases, this site is the place to do it. Recommended post: “The Ten Myths of Creating Web Content.”
3. Prnewspros: Check out this blog to find news geared especially towards those who are trying to build a career in the PR field. Recommended post: “Your PR Career: What Your College Coursework Doesn’t Teach You About Succeeding in the Workplace.”
4. PRSay: The Public Relations Society of America maintains this blog, chock full of the latest news and views on everything PR-related. Recommended post: “The Nine Lives Of Public Relations?“
5. PR News: From advising you on how to make business calls to providing the latest news on business, this PR blog has it all. Recommended post: “PR News’ Going Green: Outstanding Green Business Practices.”
6. Everything PR: Follow the public relations field as a whole when you read this blog and learn a bit more about global news and pop culture that can help your business. Recommended post: “100 Media Monitoring Tools for PR.”
7. PR Fuel: This blog will teach you about the power of a press release and offers up some ideas on how to get the most out of online press release sites. Recommended post: “30 PR Experts You Should Follow on Twitter.”

For PR Pros

These blogs will help to educate you on things you’ll need to know to get ahead as a professional working in the field of public relations.

8. Wired PR Works: Barbara Rozgonyi offers her expertise on getting your business noticed, finding new clients and building a better business community here. Recommended post: “3 YouTube and Video Marketing Tricks You Should Not Miss.”
9. ComPRehension: Explore the field of PR with some experts in the Public Relations Society of America through this blog. Recommended post: “Annual Grunig Lecture: Remembering The “Relationship” In PR.”
10. Strategic Public Relations: Learn a bit more about public relations strategies both online and off from this blog. Recommended post: “Starbucks’ In-Store Wifi Leveraged Into Branded Media Network.”
11. The Publicity Hound’s Blog: Looking for some publicity for your company or clients? Then check out this blog for some tips, tricks and tools that can help you get all eyes on your business. Recommended post: “9 ways to spy on your competitors online.”
12. 6 A.M.: This PR firm shares their business strategy and some great PR pointers, a great read for anyone interested in establishing their own business or trying to get ahead in their field. Recommended post: “A Word to the Wise.”
13. POP! PR Jots: Jeremy Pepper, the author of this blog, works in PR and communications. Through this site, he shares his own commentary on the biz and offers some great insights to newbies and seasoned vets alike. Recommended post: “PR Pitching and Blacklists.”
14. A PR Guy’s Musings: Stuart Bruce’s blog touches on a wide range of PR topics, from social media to business basics to politics. Recommended post: “Public relations is about reputation, not SEO.”
15. The Flack: Through this blog written by Peter Himler, you’ll be able to learn how PR impacts fields like politics, pop culture, business, entertainment and more. Recommended post: “Long Live PR (and the Press Release Too).”
16. National Public Relations Examiner: Valerie Merahn Simon, Senior Vice President at BurrellesLuce media monitoring and measurement, maintains this blog that is the perfect place to learn about some of the biggest issues in PR today. Recommended post: “What are the major differences between B2B and B2C social marketing?“
17. Murphy’s Law: Blogger and PR guy Tom Murphy shares his thoughts on a wide range of topics related to PR, social media and CSR on this site. Recommended post: “PR + CSR = Just Good Business.”
18. Valley PR Blog: This blog from a PR firm is maintained by several experts in the field who comment on topics like social media, marketing, the world of PR and current events. Recommended post: “The REALITY of publicity.”
19. PR at Sunrise: From working with difficult clients to navigating the strange new world of social media, you’ll find a wealth of advice for PR pros here. Recommended post: “Top 10 Signs You Are The Official Social Media Nerd Of Your Company.”

Communication

Whether it’s with clients or with the general public, there’s no doubt that communication is a key component of public relations. These blogs will give you an idea of how to improve your communication skills and be a savvier PR pro.

20. SteDavies: This PR blog is a great resource for professionals hoping to learn a bit more about the role of communications in PR and find some fun and engaging articles about everything from business to finance. Recommended post: “10 Trends of 20-Somethings.”
21. PR Communications: Learn more about marketing, social media and the internet on this blog from marketer John Cass. Recommended post: “Corporate Blogs in the Fortune 500.”
22. Public Relations Matters: Dr. Barbara B. Nixon posts to this blog about a number of public relations and communications issues. Recommended post: “Five Ways to Keep Current in Public Relations News & Trends.”

New Media Marketing and PR

These blogs are focused on using the latest technology to get the word out about brands, campaigns and businesses.

23. A Shel of My Former Self: Focused on communication and technology, this blog by Shel Holtz is a great read for any PR expert looking to take their business digital. Recommended post: “Business-produced content could fill the sharable-content gap created by paywalls.”
24. The Future Buzz: Find commentary on media, marketing and PR from Adam Singer on this blog. Recommended post: “19 Reasons You Should Blog And Not Just Tweet.”
25. aimClear: This blog offers up some great articles that can help you promote your brand or business through search engine optimization. Recommended post: “Blog Optimization, Post Title SEO & Deadeye Targeting.”
26. 360 Days in Our Circle: With several contributing bloggers in the PR business, this blog offers some multifaceted insights into PR in the digital age. Recommended post: “Email and Social Media- A Match Made in Marketing Heaven?“
27. ProPR: CEO of firms Thornley Fallis and 76Design Joseph Thornley writes this blog. Check it out to learn more about building strong client relationships, implementing creative designs and latching onto the power of the internet for PR. Recommended post: “Six keys to success in social media.”
28. What’s Next? Blog: B.L. Ochman is an expert on new media marketing, and she shares some of that expertise, as well as her commentary, though this blog. Recommended post: “Five Reasons Why Companies Should Not Block Employee Access to Social Networks.”
29. Deirdre Breakenridge: From using Facebook to cyberbranding, Deirdre Breakenridge shares her thoughts on all things PR 2.0 on this blog. Recommended post: “PR 2.0 Sharing With Your Competition.”
30. Diva Marketing Blog: Get some tips and tools for better marketing your brand, especially using digital media, on this site. Recommended post: “RSS Beyond Blogs.”
31. Media Culpa: These Swedish bloggers follow media and public relations on their site, posting about topics like Twitter, blogging, branding and much more. Recommended post: “Flickr reaches 5 billion photos.”

Social Media

Social media plays a huge role in most businesses marketing and PR work these days. Learn more about how you can better implement it in your own work through these blogs.

32. PRSarah Evans: For advice and information on getting your business rolling with social networking and online media, check out this site. Recommended post: “STUDY: The Future of Content.”
33. Dave Fleet: This blog, by PR professional Dave Fleet, discusses communications, PR and social media. Recommended Post: “57 Social Media Policy Examples and Resouces.”
34. PR Squared: Learn more about social media and marketing from blogger and public relations expert Todd Defren on this site. Recommended post: “Facebook Marketing: Success Factors.”
35. Danny Brown: Need some help understanding what role social media and online marketing should play in your business? This expert may be able to help. Recommended post: “52 Cool Facts About Social Media.”
36. Chris Abraham: Chris Abraham, the president and COO of a social media marketing firm, shares his insights into using online tools for business promotion here. Recommended post: “Best Practices of Social Media Marketing.”
37. The Proactive Report: Help your business stay ahead of the curve by reading this blog written by Sally Falkow. It focuses on social media, but also contains general advice about online PR. Recommended post: “Are Your Customers Too Old for Social Media — Not a Chance!“
38. Fresh Influence: Learn more about social media and word of mouth marketing from this 360 Digital Influence blog. Recommended post: “10 Stunning (And Useful) Stats About Twitter.”
39. Convince and Convert: Here, Jay Baer shares information on using social media and online content in PR marketing. Recommended post: “Develop a Social Media Strategy in 7 Steps.”
40. prTini: If you’ve got an interest in better utilizing social media to promote your business or product, give this blog by Heather Whaling a read. Recommended post: “The 5 Cs of Blogger Relations.”
41. Peter Shankman: Social media entrepreneur and consultant Peter Shankman offers some business advice on using social media to its fullest on this blog– much of which can be quite useful to PR professionals. Recommended post: “Is your social media expert really an expert?“
42. Communications Conversations: Get a leg up in the social media marketing world by reading some of the tips Arik Hanson has to offer here. Recommended post: “5 LinkedIn groups for PR pros.”

Niche

From tracking your stats to learning from the mistakes of others, these blogs focus on some niche areas of PR.

43. Brian Solis: Want to learn more about new media and how it’s affecting those who use it? This blog from research firm professional Brian Solis is a must-read. Recommended post: “The Rise of Social Commerce.”
44. Young PR: PR isn’t just for businesses. Learn a great deal about using social media, technology and marketing to help a non-profit through this blog. Recommended post: “PdF Audio: Using Social Media for Non-Profit Fundraising.”
45. SpinSucks: PR has a bad reputation for being manipulative and dishonest. This blogger shares some ways that PR professionals can get out of this mindset as well as posting about topics like social media, communications, advertising and more. Recommended post: “Five Signs A Social Media Star’s Reputation Is Spin.”
46. Bad Pitch Blog: Read this blog to see bad PR pitches get called out and to learn what you shouldn’t do in your own work. Recommended post: “PR People: Stop Being Bad at Stuff and Read This.”
47. PR Measurement Blog: Learn how to more effectively monitor the impact of your online marketing, public relations, internal communications and more with the help of this blog. Recommended post: “The originial HITS = How Idiots Track Success Speech.”
48. Spinning Around: This blog is a fun place to see some creative marketing campaigns for other brands. You may just be inspired to come up with your own. Recommended post: “The UK’s Top Marketing Weblogs.”
49. PR Disasters.com: Want to see some PR campaigns gone wrong and big PR snafus? This blog is the place to do it. Whether they make you laugh or cringe, you’ll get an idea of what not to do while you’re on the job. Recommended post: “Five lessons from Nestle’s Facebook PR disaster.”
50. Personal PR: While you’re sure to find some great PR tips here, this blog also offers up some ideas on how to be more productive and get ahead in your career. Recommended post: “27 Secrets to Linking LIke a Master Networker.”

Guest blogging means many things to different categories of people. To internet marketers and bloggers, it is a powerful way of helping boost internet rankings and generate traffic/leads. To organisations, it is the opportunity to create a platform to engage site visitors, it also to provide that personal connections that static websites have not achieved. Guest blogging will soon be well pronounced with more organisations creating blogs and platforms to engage fans and customers alike. Most reality shows have engage tdhe services of a independent bloggers in managing communication on their platforms.

Meet Mr. Dele Onilabusi, a 18-year old blogger born on December 22, 1993. he presently makes about $3,000 monthly blogging about guest blogging, affiliate marketing,buying and selling online. He succeeds in smiling to the bank making about $3,000 monthly doing this.

Excerpts:

1. How long have you been blogging?
   I have been blogging for 18 months now, but my main blog, YoungPrePro.com is only 14 months.
2. How many blogs/forums do your manage presently?
   I presently own and manage only one blog, the blog can be found at YoungPrePro.com.
3. How long does it take for you to write a post?
   That depends on the type of post I want to write but most of my posts take me an average of 2-3 hours.
4. 4. Do you ever get stuck when writing an entry?  What do you do then?
   I get stuck sometimes, but if I get stuck I simply don’t write because I know my readers won’t enjoy the post
5. How did you get into blogging? Did you start with the purpose of making income?
   I started blogging after reading a blog post by Steve Pavlina on how to make money blogging. I started my blog because I wanted to help people, I wasn’t motivated by the money.
6. You are fast becoming an authority in guest blogging, in simple terms, what is guest blogging and how did you get to land in this niche?
   Guest blogging is the process of writing for another blog and in return you can get a link back to your blog. I started guest blogging around 3 months of me starting blogging when I read that it can be very effective and it has since never disappointed me.
7. Plug-ins have been used to enhance weblogs and its functionality. Which are your favourite ones?
   I have no favorite plugin, sincerely; I’m okay as long as my blog is perfectly running!
8. 8. The money it is said is in the list. How important is a mailing list to any organization that wants to succeed on the internet?
   Your mailing list is as important as your internet marketing career. Focus on it!
9. Do you make money directly from your blog and how do you promote it?
   Yep, I make money from affiliate marketing and I just launched my guest blogging consulting service which will be supplementing my income.

10.  What is your advice to someone who wants to start a blog?
Get started with what you think you’re best at and always live by the principle of giving value first before expecting results.

11.  What do you think are the Key Measurements for a site to measure success?
There are  no specific results because success depends on the achiever but to me a successful blog is a blog with an active community and that is making the owner more money than is needed to maintain it.

12.  Google and Facebook may soon be slugging it out offline for the Nigerian market? What does that portend for internet entrepreneurs?
Google? Facebook? It comes to advertising revenue. I think if Google and youtube still rank among the first 3 in terms of search in the world, Face book has a lot to do. But then tou have to consider the amount of specific details that Facebook has, it makes them a potential superpower….

13. Kindly share your favourites;

Color: Blue

Movie: Supernatural

TV Show: None

Book: The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

Time of day: Saturday

Tweeting or blogging … which is cooler? Blogging by all means

Thank you so much Mr. Dele it’s been nice having you on my blog.

It’s my pleasure.

Have a clear social media strategy

Going online has gone far beyond the era of just developing a beautiful website. The evolving demand for online media marketing and social media engagement requires clear policies, guidelines and experienced staff that will involve employees in every aspect of your business operations – Human Resource, Customer Service, Branding and Marketing.

It also involves profiling your target audience before pouring resources into Facebook. Several PR tools will be useful in this regard. Don’t be busy spending money on ads if your audience is busy in traffic or with their phones.

Be prepared

Dealing with social media attacks require a robust crisis plan. Brand haters exist but unlike the past, a coordinated attack can easily be organized against a brand. Consider the Boycott British Airways campaign organized by the Nigerian Village Square and Respect Nigeria Coalition when officials of the UK Police forcefully ejected Ayodeji Omotade and about 136 other Nigerians from a Lagos bound flight from the UK. Thousands of online signatures were collated which later saw British Airways apologizing for its misbehavior.

When opening your brand to social media, you relinquish ownership of the brand, so before the case ever comes up you need to be sure if your agency has a community management expertise to avert or mitigate a social media crisis? Have a set of best practices been established? Think again.

Classify mud-slings and don’t fight dirty
Ok the deed is done and you have a crisis in your hands, what do you do? The next step is not to have a hurried response to your online audience. The next step is to determine the type of response necessary. It doesn’t matter the kind of crisis, one rule is critical – stay positive. Being bitter and negative about comments is the easiest way to expose your brand to bashing.
Some problems or complaints direct you to a particular challenge your customers are facing with your product/service, nicely thank them for bringing it to your notice and deal with it. If the comments are as a result of customers not understanding your methods and policies, you score a bigger point. Simply thank them and explain why you do it that way. You won’t take all suggestions, but be careful to win their loyalty and trust by being appreciative. But then some mudslings are downright dirty, they are designed to draw or bait you into an unnecessary I-am-right-get-lost fight thereby exposing you as inept and leaving your organization at the mercy of a community of angry comments and future readers of the page. Nescafe (international) will never forget this lesson when they multiplied their challenges by mishandling Facebook attacks during protests by members of Greenpeace.
Finally, in going social, always remember a Facebook page isn’t a social media strategy. Using social media engagement strategies includes identifying your brand personality, profiling your target audience and going to engage them. If your brand is hoping to leverage on social media, it should be ready to create new teams to proactively listen, learn and engage your customers in real time. Cheers

It is no more news that customers are evolving. The individual habits and expectations of modern consumers have changed the landscape into which marketing and advertising campaigns are launched. Simple ad campaigns and increase in bottomline are no longer simple equations – advertising agencies are working overtime and business owners are getting worried. This is because individuals now prefer to do their own research rather than just believe advertisers’ word for it. They are increasingly forming communities online and people have been discussing – including brands. Dissatisfied customers no longer waste time calling auto-responders for complaints – they simply turn to their peers online and are empowering others with information that is likely to have an impact on the reputation of your brand.
Businesses now need to get out of their comfort zone and begin to engage their customers through a comprehensive social media strategy. Starbucks coffee, an international brand is leading the way in engaging its customers on social media platforms. On the Nigerian scene, KPMG conducted a banking industry customer satisfaction survey and rated GTBank as the most customer focused bank (retail and corporate). It can safely be deduced that GTBank is certainly doing something right on the web. Beyond just opening media channels, what is it about GTBank’s social media strategy has made it so successful? Let’s analyze GTBank social behavior across the web:
Beyond having a beautifully designed website, Facebook or twitter pages, GTBank has been able to harness the power of online communities in delivering value to customers and potential customers. Here are some lessons for employing social media strategy for yours.
Don’t shout, Listen
The first way to begin to engage customers is to listen first. What are your customers saying and where are they? Whether your organization believes it or not, conversations are going on online about your brand, customers are sharing their experience and they are mentioning things you won’t ever find out even if you search your beautifully designed suggestion box.
Instead of leaving customers to complain about long queues, GTBank brought banking to their customers on the web. Listening before engaging your target audience ensures you don’t throw money at your business challenges. Innovative Public Relation tools are now available that enable PR professionals track conversations going on about people and brands on blogs, forums, social media websites and to be able to analyze and counsel organizations for online consumer engagement.
Go, join the conversation
While some organizations find it is easy to worry less about social media reports and to wish them away, lots of brands including GTBank, Honda, Mercedes Benz and Starbucks have gone to join the conversation on social media. Creating your own community on social media platforms online ensures that you have a platform where potential consumers come to complain, make enquiries, ask questions and you ultimately have your own online customer service forum where open communication and feedbacks are available for customers to interact with one another and with the brand.
GTBank is no longer busy shouting for attention and interrupting people with adverts; they are busy chatting with about 112,268 fans on Facebook, and over 1,259 followers on Twitter. Don’t just hurry to join the people community to control the conversation and restrict negative comments – you better not be found out. The goal is to help customers find solutions to their challenges, inspire consumer loyalty and to influence buying choices.
Content – push your stuff out!
Traditional campaign materials can be turned into online friendly versions and can be distributed freely. In two months of GTBank opening a YouTube Channel, 2,042 people have viewed its uploads. GTBank uploads videos, product launches, adverts on Facebook. The bank also has an interactive multimedia e-zine called Ndani which it distributes periodically. This is fully readable with flip pages, links and videos – all easily transferable among customers. What makes social media attractive is not only fruitful discussion, content is key. Why would someone visit your brand website if it doesn’t deliver value? GTBank’s website has a fully integrated internet banking service. Print adverts, videos and other freebies make it easy to get others do the advertising for the organization. One of the most successful viral marketing strategies is to get easily distributable materials out into the open.
Blendtec, a company which manufactures professional home blenders, produced an in-house video, which gained maximum exposure with 134.2million views on YouTube and a fivefold increase in sales.
Engage your customers
Having an online platform is not enough. Websites like Facebook is now awash with inactive fan pages without meaningful activity going on. The goal of social media engagement is not to have a page or website; it is to give customers the opportunity to gain ownership of the brand. Don’t forget, your goal is not to control, just discuss. Even with Starbuck’s 705,000 followers on twitter and over 5,428,000 fans on Facebook, it has gone ahead to open a website where consumers share their ideas on Starbucks (www.mystarbucksidea.com). GTBank uses it platforms to invite people to events and engages them by also moderating competition for fans – people love free stuff, ask GTBank. Fans have a place to open discussions and comment as many of them do. Go on ahead and participate, engage them and deliver value, and the customers will relate with your brand in a personal way.
It is becoming imperative that even customer service is no longer about sipping coffee while expecting customers to call your automated answering machine. Most of them never do anyway. However, many brands can learn a great deal from the way that GTBank is winning the heart of customers through the social web. The GTBank brand has created a digital dialogue with its customers, enabling online enthusiasts a platform to experience the brand and to give feedback on their services. GTBank is again showing its customers and potential customers that customer service remains their key selling proposition by putting communicating with their customers and prospective customers a top priority. Do you?