Social Media Integration - Maximise Your Online Business Potential

You have a website, and you get leads and information from this,perhaps even some data, and you might be thinking    "why do I need social media?"  and that's a good question. After all, what else can integrating social media into your business online presence do for your organisation? How about this...

• Customer service. You can interact with your customers in real time on social media, answering any enquiries or complaints and building on line communities. This gets people engaged with your business.
• Invite people you've searched for to connect with you.Offer them incentives, coupons and discounts. It's a great way to seek out new business. 
• Generate new sales leads by looking for users who tweet or post about your business area or product.
• Add your social media 'handles' to your brochures and website and ask people to connect with you. Position yourself as *the* expert in your field of business
• Recruit new staff by using social media to advertise. You can even use social media sites like LinkedIn for the application and CV submission process. It's also a great way to head-hunt the right people as you can search through on line profiles.
• Monitor your competitors.You can watch to see what they're up to and engage with their customers. Do it better than they do!
• Promote new products across all your on line sites. Increase the reach of your campaign.
• Use stats and analytics tools to direct your marketing and tell you where your business is coming from. Big data can give you loads of useful information you perhaps didn't know about your business area.

If you use a bit of blue sky thinking you could probably think of many more reasons to integrate social media into your business, but whatever you do,get some good advice from a specialist social media consultant and make sure you maximise the potential of social media.

It is really great when you start to see folks using the social media 'buttons' on your website to tweet you and post to Facebook. Or connect with you via LinkedIn or leave a tip about you on FourSquare. But make sure you set up your website to tweet and Facebook and Google+1  automatically whenever you make any changes.

 Maximise your business potential with fully integrated social media. Let Nomsindo become your social media partners. We Create Conversations...

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How to design your social media marketing campaign

You know how it goes...you pick up the paper, surprised by it's weight. When you open it up, out tumbles a huge wad of advertising leaflets. We've all been there! The problem for businesses who still use this form of advertising is that hardly anybody reads them. The recycling bins are full of Pizza take-away menus, supermarket deals leaflets, furniture store sales flyers... etc etc. Is your business still advertising using the print medium? If so, you are probably wasting your money, and this sort of advertising doesn't come cheap by any means.. And in this day and age,it's becoming increasingly irrelevant...

                                                               (photo from hloom.com)

Social media has worked its way into every part of our lives.It is ubiquitous, and more to the ppoint, it is where people go to find things they want to buy and services they need. They just don't want to plough through all of the bits of paper cluttering up the house. If your marketing campaign is to reach people who want your services or products, then social media is where you just have to be. And more to the point, you need to pick your platforms very carefully according to your target audience. There is no point taking time to participate on a social space which is not the home of your target market. This is where good advice is essential. There is always a cost to social media, be it time or outsourcing it to somebody to do.

                                                         (image from library.ohiou.edu)

Take expert advice on the design of your marketing campaign on social media. This should include design, inception, integration with your website, creating conversations, management, detailed monthly analytics on line reputation management and brand protection. 

Whilst expert advice is never cheap, it could save you money in the long run if you get your social media activity right first time and managed for you effectively and efficiently. Many web design and digital media consultancies claim to be able to advise on social media, but you wouldn't ask an orthopedic surgeon to deliver your baby would you? Pick a specialist social media consultancy to advise you. It will be money well spent...they can advise you on every aspect of your marketing campaign and provide you with a real return on your investment (ROI). This is important because there is lots of available data which will help you with the direction and fine-tuning of your marketing and put you right at the heart of where you need to be - on your potential customers' social media feeds..

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Online Reputation Management - Protect your Brand

Recent food health scares have burst over social media like an atomic bomb. Horse meat scares have done the rounds on twitter and facebook and the other platforms and some big names have come under attack due to the way they did or did not handle adverse publicity on social media.  And it's not just food. HMV went bust in the UK thanks mainly to some terrible social media coverage which they failed to deal with. Hello Peter and other complaints sites are full of complaints against both big and small business (including St Elmo's Pizzaway and KFC South Africa which seem to attract more than their fair share of gripes).

If you care about your brand,you need to be alert to these complaints. If you value your on line reputation, you need to deal with them. The internet has a very long memory and Google searches will bring up these complaints,putting off potential customers from wanting to do business with you).

An online complaint on social media will quickly spread. This is called Amplification as the bad news for your business is spread from user to user and all their followers. The potential reach of one bad news tweet can very soon stretch into the hundreds of thousands in next to no time, irreparably damaging your brand.

However, these complaints do offer you a fantastic opportunity to engage with your customers and to turn complaints into satisfied folks who will even recommend you to their families and friends, winning you new business. You just need to be alert to the dangers and the opportunities because the long memory of the internet search engines can be made to work in your favour.

So don't just sanitise your Facebook page of any bad news. Don't ignore negative tweets, and don't use cut and paste responses to complaints on sites like Hello Peter,but instead take the opportunity to placate your dissatisfied customers and turn them into good friends, winning extra sales in the process. It is hard work. It needs some investment in social media and a good specialist consultant to give you advice. Consider outsourcing this work to a specialist social media consultancy because they will know exactly how to look after your brand and your reputation.

Here is a great article about how brand rescue and online reputation management is becoming a big challenge to many businesses and individuals

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5 Trends in Social Media for 2013

If you're in business and looking at how to maximise your social media activity, have a look at the trends for the rest of this year (and probably into next year too).
It's a given nowadays that you have to have an active presence on social media just to keep up with your competitors, never mind getting ahead,but if you take account of these predictions   and talk to a good specialist social media consultant, you should manage to stay ahead of the curve.

 5 Trends in Social Media Impacting Business | Social Media Today

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Why Businesses Need Google+...

I came across this great article today whilst doing some R&D for a client.It's a fantastic piece about the benefits of using Google+ for business. Now, we already know that Google+ is second only to Facebook in terms of users, but which is the better platform for business? I'd have to say that Google+ is giving Facebook a very good run for its money. If you take into account the SEO value of Google+, I'd have to say that no business serious about its social media activity should be swerving Google+, for this simple reason alone.
I know many of my social media consultant acquaintances and even competitors might disagree, but in my view, they are making a serious mistake if they underestimate the power of Google+.  Some great communities, ease of search,and the ability to better position your business right at the heart of your potential client or customer base gives it a real edge over Facebook. Whilst it's by no means disruptive technology, it is a serious player and must sit up there alongside Facebook at the very heart of any business social media strategy.
Why Bloggers Need Google Plus So Badly | Social Media Today

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Social Media may drive more traffic to your website than search engines...

We've been saying this for a while now. Well we would, wouldn't we? we're Social Media specialists, after all. But since Google changed it's search algorithms, it's interactions rather than the number of backlinks which makes your website stand up and take a bow to your customers and prospects..

Social Media May Soon Drive More Traffic to Your Website Than Search Engines | Entrepreneur.com

And remember, we are Cape Town's most cutting edge Social Media agency because it's what we live and breathe. We bring you the latest trends as well as up to the minute R&D so if you're looking for social media which positions your business or organisation right at the heart of the where you need to be, get in touch now.

Nomsindo - We Create Conversations...

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How *Not* to use Social Media

KFC is a big brand. Its known all over the world for fried chicken done to perfection using the Colonel's secret recipe of eleven spices and herbs. Except in South Africa, where they appear to have a problem with the concept of ..cooking... the chicken. Raw chicken is not good, even when coated in eleven herbs and spices. This is a photo of a recent purchase we made... Not at all appetising and more to the point, dangerous to health. Their facebook page is inundated with pics of substandard products and tales of poor service.

The problem with KFC South Africa is that they appear to have contracted out their complaints handling operation to the most cack-handed and inept operation we've ever come across (and there are lots of them in the world of digital media management, believe me! ). This company is called DSG but they don't handle the actual social media itself  - this is done 'in house' so there is an immediate disconnect in their customer service operation there. very poor!

Now, To recap the story so far. KFC South Africa are struggling with customer service and quality of their food. They have subcontracted their complaints operation to a so-called specialist in this field, DSG.

SOCIAL MEDIA IS SUPPOSED TO BE SOCIAL STUPID

We started posting comments and pictures on their Facebook page two days ago. We also started engaging in conversation with other disgruntled customers on both Facebook and Twitter, as well as blogging about the standard of food and service we've received from KFC over the years. But instead of heading us off at the pass by answering our comments and getting in touch with us by private message or Twitter DM, they simply posted their standard reply over and over again. From what we can see, they have three responses which they cut and paste onto Facebook in answer to complaints and comments. Apart from this, their entire Social Media strategy (if you can call it that) is to 'broadcast' KFC news. There is no real meaningful engagement with their customers. In fact, its not a social media strategy at all, its simply a digital media advertising strategy.

KFC South Africa (and DSG) have missed the point entirely. Its not called *social* media for nothing guys!
A real missed opportunity to build brand loyalty by true engagement with consumers, and to deal with complaints effectively, turning them around into satisfied customers. Just standard replies and broadcasting. Boring and ineffective.

BLOCKED FROM THEIR FACEBOOK

But there's worse... When we continued to engage with Facebook users who had made complaints, they blocked us from their facebook !! How stupid is that? Not only do they have a complete lack of understanding of how social media is supposed to work, but they send out the message (which we continue to spread on Twitter, Tumblr, Blogger, Google+, Trip Advisor, FourSquare etc etc) that if you complain too much about their food or service, they'll try to silence you by blocking you from their page. Problem with this folks is that there are simply too many other social media channels on which to create the conversation about their poor quality food and indifferent customer service.

DSG DOES NOT UNDERSTAND SOCIAL MEDIA USE

They must be worried because no less than the Executive Director (restaurants) from KFC South Africa, Peter Horne, phoned me up to ask what it would take for us to stop attacking their brand! They just don't get it do they? Its their abusive use of social media both themselves and via DSG which is the problem. DSG just don't get how to use it properly, and thats whats attacking their brand, not us...Daryl Shapiro from DSG who also called me yesterday needs to take a long hard look at his company social media operation because he's letting his clients down - big time. They advertise social media management on their website but they just don't deliver (see the last blog post on here about using a specialist social media consultant).

And so to prove the point, we made up our own facebook page, Finger Lickin Gross which has had hundreds of views in a few short hours. We've blogged about this as well. Again, thousands of hits. The twitter amplification has topped 250K views.  Please go visit, and comment, because it is supposed to be social media after all. And help us prove a point !

And to KFC South Africa... you might want to rethink and refashion your complaints handling process, because it's not working to protect your brand from the terrible service and poor quality food your restaurants serve up here in South Africa. Social media is about creating conversations. So go online and talk *with* your customers and stop talking *at* them.

Oh yes...and remember, blocking customers won't stop them talking on social media, it just encourages them to talk more...

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So, Why does my business need to be using Social media?

We get asked this question a lot! Prospective clients often feel confused and even scared of being active on the web, and think that having a website is enough... well, its not.

Not any more. Websites are static and difficult to use for conversations. They are the 'Shop Window' for your business, but nowadays, a good website will be integrated with social media. Here are a few reasons why you can't afford not to be using social media for your business..

• Answer and address complaints quickly. Increasingly, businesses are using Twitter and Facebook to handle complaints. Just check out KLM, Vodacom, and Virgin for good examples.If you want to see badly used social media,look at the KFC South Africa FaceBook page!
• Get feed back on your business activity. If you want to gauge the possible reaction of consumers or customers to something you're planning, Social Media is almost like an instant polling station! Just ask your questions on Twitter or Facebook for almost instant answers.
• Share photo's and video of your business activity and products. Its a vibrant community out there and with the right images, you get wonderful free exposure. 
• Word of mouth marketing is a powerful way to boost your sales. And without the cost of radio or television campaigns either. Its quick and effective, and all about making connections.
• Increase loyalty. Your social media activity will make your connections feel a strong sense of loyalty to you. After all, you're not just broadcasting to them...you're engaging with them
• Market research. You can easily search your business area or market and see what's happening. People will be talking about it, that's virtually guaranteed on social media. 
• Your competitors will be on it. So you don't want to be left out and lose business. If they're not already on social media, they soon will be!
• Statistics tell a story. You get tons of useful information from the data provided by social media activity. Web analytics and traffic reports tell you where your activity is coming from and allow you to position yourself vetu clinically to where you need to be.
• Become the expert in your field. Using content curation (collection and aggregation) positions you as the expert to ask questions from in your field. People will come to your sites for information and advice. before they even get near your competitors.
• Brand protection. You don't want people to criticise you on line, but if they do, you need to be able to talk with them instantly.Just look at HMV in the UK - they ignored social media and were driven into bankruptcy by a barrage of negative social media commentary they failed to answer.

                                                           creating conversation...

Social media is how you can engage with your customers and business contacts in real time and almost instantly. Increasingly, its how we do business, search for purchases and perhaps most importantly, make complaints about poor service or products. 

Social Media is growing and is a powerful force in marketing and brand protection. Nobody wants folks out there saying bad things about them on Twitter, facebook, Pinterest and all the other platforms which give people a genuine voice. That voice is affecting the way we buy products and services. Social Media sites are replacing traditional search engines (YouTube is second to Google for the number of searches recorded).

But you need to be positioned on the right Social Media platforms for your business. Thats where we can help. The advice of a good social media consultant is vital. A good consultant will live and breathe social media. They won't design websites, or do advertising. They'll just know exactly where you need to be on the many platforms that exist out there. 

This is our business. Social media is what we're all about. So we can help you with your website...from a social media integration perspective. But Social media is our speciality here at Nomsindo. 

We Create Conversation for your business...

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Six digital publishing startups to watch

We like the look of these, especially the new blogging tools. In fact, they might be set fair to take blogging to new and different directions. And thats the thing,because new technology should be disruptive...

Check them out ... and enjoy. And tell us what you think!

Six digital publishing startups to watch

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Social Media - What we do

We've been asked a lot recently just what is it we do for our Social Media clients. So here it is..

• We carry out a full review of a client's existing social media and web activity.
• We ask lots of questions about their business.Its important we 'get' their vision and mission to be able to understand just where they need to be on social media and what their market is.
• We would seek to understand where and how the client feels they should be using social media.Contrary to popular belief,its not for everyone!
• We'd want to talk about possible budgets. Its important to us to know how much they think it might cost to have a social media presence managed for them.
• Following this, we'd make a series of recommendations based upon our analysis of their needs. Some social media channels are a 'must have' for most clients. Others are more sector-specialist. Others are more related to the demographic of their potential markets/clients. For example, Pinterest has 65% of its hits coming from young women, whereas Google+ is more male oriented.
• We'd then offer a setup package which would include social media integration with their website, setting up of a blog and other social media platforms as necessary.
• A monthly management contract sets out the level of activity we'd undertake, as a minimum. For example,number of daily tweets, facebook posts etc. This is always flexible to suit changing business needs. We'll do the work and then talk with you later!
• We provide a detailed monthly report including web analytics and social media activity so that you can see where your traffic is coming from and how your social media presence is growing and effective. After all, you need to know what the return on your investment is.

And there it is....in a nutshell.

Nomsindo - We Create Conversations. 

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