Insight into Social Media Networks from Marketers Point of View

Spending a few hours every evening blogging or chatting with friends across the world or uploading photos and commenting on articles etc have become a way of life for millions of people. Social Media has enabled large community of people to communicate and interact with one another like never before. Social Media provides free access to individuals to read, write, share information, contribute their view point, participate in discussions, share photos, music, videos, and build collective opinions and discussions around a common topic of interest besides of course enabling people to make friends. The possibilities for social interactions are unlimited.

As far as the marketers are concerned, social media is a huge world of opportunities where one is able to directly reach out and interact with prospective customers as well as existing customers. Today Companies have no option but to be in the social media by compulsion rather than by choice.

The fact that the social media contributions and discussions are held by the community of people, they have the freedom to discuss about any company, any product and influence the opinion of the others. Therefore it becomes important for marketers to be in tune with the communities on the social media and to listen to them. It is only by listening to the customers and their opinions as well as experiences about your products that the marketers are able to get a real feedback on the product performance and take suitable actions based on the feedback. Marketers should also realize that by tuning in with the participants in the social web, one is not only able to listen and thus get the pulse of the public; it gives the markets a strategic approach on how to influence and approach the prospective customers in the given circumstances.

Marketers have got to understand the fundamental differences between other marketing channels and social media networks. Social media networks are the most direct channel that provides access to the ‘would be’ customers and existing customers. However it is also important to note that the conversations and information between the communities and individuals on various forums and blogs is totally voluntary or collaborative. Unlike in the other media channels where marketers are able to target the audience through direct advertisements or mails and other forms of advertisements, on the social web media, marketers have no absolute control over the discussions and at best can influence the communities by participating and guiding the discussions around its products and information.

Another aspect of social media networks that is of importance to the marketers is that the medium provides the real and instant feedback from the actual users about the products and services. One may wonder if the feedback and the opinions expressed are genuine and if the total feedback is accurate. The fact that the process of collective opinion evolving out of discussions over a period of time can vary, can mean that the representation of the opinions and overall feedback can also vary over a period of time. Further it can be subject to the influences from the marketer’s side and thus at the end the opinions might change altogether from what it was in the first place. Since the feedback is received from genuine customers who have the real experience, it has been seen over a period of time that the opinions and feedback is generally very accurate and the marketers can bank on the same. In several cases, one can also measure the feedback using various tracking and surveying tools.

End of it, marketers need to realize the fact that social media networks work as an extension of the other major media channels through which the Companies target the customers. Marketers cannot rely only on social media networks to target their media campaigns to the customer groups. At the same time, they cannot help but be present in the social media networks, for as long as the competition is present in the social media and as long as the people are discussing about the Product and the Company, one has no choice but to participate in the social media process.