Facebook, Twitter and MySpace Generate Leads and Extend Brand - How To Leverage Social Networking Sites
 | Summary: Used properly, social networking tools like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace can generate leads, create community with existing customers, and provide information on products and services. |
You might think Twitter, Facebook and MySpace are only for your fifteen year old tween texting wildly on her cell phone, but these social networking sites have become important tools for large, respectable companies in generating business leads and extending their brand.
Facebook currently has over 100,000,000 members who link to each other through known friends and to new friends through suggestions from existing friends. Though primarily for personal profiles – many companies have discovered that creating a company profile enables existing and perspective customers to learn about your company’s services, products and to receive news blasts as you update your status.
Twitter has recently exploded as a quick and efficient means of sending short communications to customers since tweets are limited to 140 characters. (This sentence has 127 characters) “All ladies tops 50% off today only at DFW Dress Shack” is a great example of a tweet a retail company might send to their “followers” to generate interest and drive sales. Most followers receive tweets immediately on their cell phone further enhancing the timeliness of the Twitter mechanism.
The oldest of the three social networking sites, MySpace caters to a much younger audience but members cover all age groups. Rock bands, television shows, and other entertainment organizations have embraced MySpace to communicate with their friends in the same manner as Facebook.
The best way to use social networking sites is to provide your existing and potential customers with a mechanism to communicate with your team, learn more about your products and services, and to keep customers updated on exciting changes within your organization. The tools tend to be less formal so include the personality of your organization to increase interest from perspective customers.
Things to consider:
- How to track and convert new “friends” or “followers” to leads, then to customers?
- What is the most efficient method for managing communications with friends/followers?
- How can social networking and viral marketing be leveraged to garner attention and potential customers?
Interesting stats:
A recent report from http://www.whitepapersource.com/socialmediamarketing/report/ provides insight into the habits of the social networker:
| Marketer's Use of Social Media Tools | |
| Social Media | % Respondents Using |
| Twitter | 86% |
| Blogs | 79 |
| Linkedin | 78 |
| Facebook | 77 |
| Source: Social Media Marketing Industry Report, March 2009 | |
| Benefits of Social Media Marketing (% of Respondents, multiple response OK) | |
| Benefit | % Responding |
| Generated exposure | 81% |
| Increased traffic, subscribers, list | 61 |
| New business partners | 56 |
| Increased position in search rankings | 52 |
| Generated qualified leads | 48 |
| Reduced overall marketing expenses | 45 |
| Helped close sales | 35 |
| Source: Social Media Marketing Industry Report, March 2009 | |