One Size Does Not Fit All
This is especially true in regards to social media. The social media strategy for Trojan condoms should be vastly different than the social media strategy for an email marketing company.

True, the crux of the social media campaigns – communicating with customers – should be the same, but how a company reaches out to its prospective customers should rely on who those customers are.

In the hopes of helping others with their social media strategies, I will highlight efforts of top brands each Friday in a series cleverly titled Social Media Spotlight. Each week I will try to identify where companies are succeeding on the social media front and where they are failing miserably.

Whether creating a Facebook page, Twitter account, or online group, brands need to consider the benefit their social media presence will have for potential and current customers. If that benefit is solely another placeholder page where users can find out more information about the brand then I highly doubt the company will find much success.

Brands need to ask what resources their customers need. Can we provide these resources through social media? How can our brand communicate to our customers in a helpful manner? For example, if your company runs a sportsbook, your company could create a Facebook group that connects users to discuss current matchups or a Twitter account that updates users when lines move.

In social media, emphasize the user (and benefits to the user) rather than the company. For the opposing view point (from a respected marketing blogger) click here.

Spotlight: Select Comfort
This week’s spotlight will look at Select Comfort, makers of the Sleep Number Bed and their use of Twitter.

Select Comfort has built a solid presence on Twitter with Sleep Number Sara:

Sleep Number Sara does a great job of attaching a face with the product and works on outreach to Sleep Number users. She is personable, friendly, and sincere when reaching out to other users – helping to associate these characteristics with her brand.

Select Comfort is clearly monitoring their brand on Twitter and responding to users who tweet about their product:

In doing so, Select Comfort is establishing a connection with users and providing easy access to the brand. Who is going to choose to call customer service when they could readily send a direct message to Sleep Number Sara via Twitter?

Tracking brand mentions is incredibly easy (and free) on Twitter using Twitter Search’s API and an RSS reader. All brands should be monitoring the conversations surrounding their brands, but they should also be monitoring conversations about their competitors, issues their products address, and benefits customers are seeking out.

For Select Comfort, the brand should monitor Twitter discussions on Hypnos Beds (competitor), “trouble sleeping” (issue), and “good night sleep” (benefit).

A quick Twitter search for trouble sleeping showed some great potential for Select Comfort:

Each of these individuals represents potential customers and by approaching them in a personal manner, brands have a real opportunity to connect. Are you connecting to individuals personably or as a large corporation? Are you finding the right people to connect with or are you finding people already frustrated? What percentage of your potential customers are you reaching and how can you reach more?

Related post: RyanAir social media strategy or How Not to Manage Your Brand Online