How Valuable is Social Media?

It’s just one of those things that keeps growing and growing and growing.  It has changed the way we communication, the way we interact and engage, the way we share information.  Yes, that’s right, I’m talking about the phenomenon that is called ‘social media’.

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to go on a two-day social media workshop.  As I’ve mentioned in my previous posts, I’m completing my internship with National Disability Services (NDS) WA and we are currently looking into the idea of implementing Twitter.

Personally I’m a huge fan of social media, having Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Foursquare and Google+ accounts.  I like each platforms for different reason but generally speaking, the reason why I like social media is simply because it allows me to connect to people.  In fact, the top five things people do online is connect, create, enjoy, learn and trade.

To demonstrate the impact of social media, here is a video on the revolution of social media (which I’m sure you have all seen before).  

As well as that, here are some other quick facts on social media relating to Australia:

• Facebook has the most Unique Australian Visitors (UAVs) - 2 million more than YouTube;
• 27% of small, 34% of medium and 79% of large businesses have a social media presence; and 
• More than half of businesses use their social media investment for marketing, followed by customer service/support and public relations.

I believe every organisation could utilise social media.  Obviously it’s important to identify  your audience and influencers as well as determining whether your social media objectives are aligned with your business objectives before implementing it.  But all in all I believe it’s a great tool that is currently being under-utilised by many organisations.  In my opinion, the number one reason why organisations don’t invest in social media is because they see it as a risk.

An example of this risk that many companies refer to is Targets recent social media debacle.  While many may see this as a risk, it can in fact be an opportunity.  As the saying goes, if your customers aren’t saying it online then they will be saying it somewhere else.  At least if it’s online, you have the opportunity to control it through engaging with the customer and dealing with the issue straight away.  Target had the opportunity to deal with this issue, however they choose to ignore it which in turn created a even bigger problem for themselves.  

The most important thing that I learnt in my workshop was that minimising risk is as easy as making sure you have a comprehensive social media plan, processes and policies in place.  Monitoring is also important part of minimising risk, as you want to know what people are saying about you and also how you can be involved in that conversation.  HootSuite is a free social media management tool that is great for monitoring.  It also has a reporting function which allows you to view the analytic of your social media platforms and the engagement level from your online community.  I highly recommend you take the time and sign up.

So how valuable is social media?  Well if used effectively, it can be used to build a brand, generate leads, assist in research and development, launch a product/service, be use for customer retention, a channel for thought leadership, internal communication, media relations, crisis management, culture change and innovation.  Overall, I would say it’s very important for businesses.  And if you don’t agree, listen to what these experts have to say.

From this training I’ve learnt a wealth of information about social media.  If you ever have the opportunity to do any social media training then I highly suggest you take that opportunity with both hands.  And I hope this has provided you with some useful insights into the value of social media.

Until next week,

Jess Fuimaono (14557626)

PS - make sure you delete your MySpace account and join Google+, it’s growing like mad and will most likely be the next big thing.