Marketing on Social Media

More and more often when I’m talking to clients, the question of social media and how to utilise it crops up. An increasing number of people have been embracing social media since Web 2.0 has really taken off so it’s come as no surprise that businesses and public bodies are putting it high in the priorities of their marketing communication strategies. The majority of social media platforms are free and easy to use but the really important part, from a business point of view, is determining how to get the best out of them.

Another consideration marketing strategists must make is the suitability or relevancy of each social media platform to their brand. Just because the service is freely available to use, that doesn’t necessarily mean that using it is going to be a good idea. Too many companies set up accounts or profiles on every social network or media platform without paying enough consideration to what returns this can give to the brand. Having a presence on a social media platform but using it ineffectively can dilute or devaluate your brand. The key is finding the balance and keeping it.


A social media platform making a lot of headlines at the moment is Twitter. If you’re unfamiliar with Twitter, it’s basically a “micro-blogging” website that allows its users to publish short 140-character updates (known as “tweets”) on whatever takes their fancy. That update is then in turn seen by anyone who is choosing to “follow” the user. If the user wishes, they can categorise their tweets with their own desired keyword so other users can search for their updates using that keyword.

The casual user essentially uses it to post short updates on whatever they are doing at the time such as eating lunch, watching a film or maybe talking about a social meeting between them and another user (in which they “tag” the other user). For the more serious users, they use it to share other online content through the use of links or by re-posting (“retweet”) someone else’s tweets.

The ways in which a business can utilise a service like this are numerous. To use existing examples, news websites such as BBC and the Daily Telegraph are using it to post headlines and links to stories, sort of like an ad-hoc RSS feed that the user can click through to if they want to read more. Similarly, businesses are using it to synchronise with news feeds on their website to inform users of new products, services and company news. However, the opportunities for promotion do not end there.

To use one good example, a well-known clothing and sports brand use Twitter not only as a news service, but to connect with their audience in a very direct way. One instance of this was them searching for users mentioning “Newquay” in their tweets. They found a user who was asking for café recommendations in the Cornish town and tweeting to the user and offering their own recommendation, while mentioning one of their stores was situated nearby. This tactic might seem a little unsubtle to some but it established a relationship between brand and potential customer that was slightly more personal than before.

Although this is only one example a social media platform that is proving really useful to the businesses as well as the everyday browser, the theory can be applied across a lot of the other popular platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn or even user generated content websites such as YouTube or Flickr (although how the theory is applied will vary).

Once you determine how best to use the platform, do your best to make sure you stick to it and keep your network of users updated. Be personal if you like, adding your own opinion and comment on something relevant to your brand (such as a news story) is a good way of making the brand seem more accessible and in touch with its customers.

Social Media is great for opening the boundaries between company and customer but always remember that it is a two way street, and people can in turn communicate themselves to others about your brand. By ensuring you deliver relevant and useful information in the right way, you can find a good balance and improve your brand awareness on a more personal and direct level.

That being said, the main constraint for your social media interaction is time. It’s hard to sit down and write your next tweet or blog when you have a million other things to be dealing with. Fortunately, O&G can help by designing and managing your Social Media campaign for you. Our Social Media campaigns can be customised to your desired platform and level of customer-interactivity.

To find out more about Social Media campaigns by O&G email gavin@oandg.co.uk or call us on 01273 748884.

**Thanks to flickr user respres for the image.