Marketing

Graeme Foux explains the competitive advantage that can result from integrating social media into your business.

Graeme Foux explains the competitive advantage that can result from integrating social media into your business.

The ascendancy of Facebook and Twitter into dominant players in social media and masters of the Web universe is truly breathtaking. Even Google has been caught out by the performance of Facebook.

So, with traditional media fragmented and audience expectations moving beyond passive TV advertising consumption, is it any wonder that marketers are flocking to Facebook to get their slice of a 300 million+ audience?

And so Facebook, Twitter, YouTube mania reigns, every brand wants a social media strategy, and every agency and consultancy now has its own social media gurus and experts.

All is well then and everyone is satisfied. Well not quite

Sorting out social media

Behind the scenes, the story is inevitably a bit more complicated and not everything is as it seems.

Firstly, social media spells confusion for a lot of marketers. Is this really a medium for brand advocacy and insight only? If I take my brand out into the leading social networking sites, participate in popular online communities, engage key bloggers and influencers, and learn to listen, is that my social media strategy done and dusted?

A lot of people seem to think so. And, after all, if you're a traditional marketer or online PR specialist, this seems perfectly plausible.

But, increasingly for those who've executed this social media strategy, two key questions are emerging: How do I measure the ROI to justify further investment? And, is this really the extent of the social opportunity for my business?

Well, the answer is surely, No, its not!

Beyond Twitter and Facebook

It may be a steep learning curve and unchartered waters for many, but the big business opportunities in social lie beyond Twitter and Facebook.

Don't misunderstand me, third party social networking sites and the like are a critical component of a successful social media strategy, but nowhere near the entirety.

Look deeper and we are beginning to see the potential of social commerce, social CRM, collaborative product innovation and more.

Companies in search of ROI from social media understand that they have to integrate the capabilities into the way they do business, not just extend out into social environments.

Apart from anything else, there is a jarring disconnect when a company engages in trusted conversations and 'listens' to its customers in external networks, but as soon as that customer comes into the company's own online environment they get a comment here and a rating there, but little else.

In fact, the key is to bring together your external social media initiatives and internal enablement to provide a consistent, compelling user experience.

When social media are truly integrated into the way you manage your eCommerce, redefine how your CRM strategy works, are used to encourage and reward loyalty, help to drive engagement through compelling thought leadership and insights, you'll not only achieve your KPI's but carve out a highly profitable competitive advantage, because you looked beyond the crowd and understood the key to social media is integrating it successfully into your business.

Graeme Foux is CEO of social software solutions provider Knexus.