Are you still waiting to see if social media marketing is worth your time? It’s understandable to be hesitant of this new style of marketing, but entrepreneurs in particular have a lot to gain from getting involved with social media. It’s a free way to get in touch with your target audience and other leading figures in your industry. Even if your contacts don’t go on to become paying customers, you still get direct insight into your target audience’s mindset.
Still not convinced? Here are 7 companies making big strides through social media marketing.
Note: Thousands of companies use social media. Don’t think of this as a “Top 7†list, but rather as a sampling of companies from all industries and of all sizes making social media work for their unique needs.
1. Whiteflash- Whiteflash.com is an online diamond jewelry retailer. The owners of this company believe that buying a diamond is an interactive experience. That’s why they focused on social marketing techniques to engage potential customers. With live chatting on their website and numerous relationships with top bloggers, the company has increased their revenue by 15 percent, and most recently, they were featured in Entrepreneur magazine for their social marketing success.
2. Eastern Isles- Eastern Isles Teas and Tonics is a company headed up by two twenty-something young adults with a strong sense of Internet marketing. A key part of their marketing strategy is social media marketing. Through sites like Facebook and MySpace, the company generates about 30,000 unique visitors to their site each month.
3. Dell- Long gone are the days of the stoner gracing our television screens with “Dude, you’re getting a Dell.†Today, Dell is taking full advantage of social media marketing. In addition to over 20 Twitter accounts, they also have several company blogs that attract millions of visitors each month. However, most impressive to me is their Ideastorm website. This interactive community allows users to submit and vote on ideas. Well over 10,000 ideas have been created here. A truly great idea in and of itself.
4. Doritos- Dell isn’t the only company getting its users involved in the process. Remember the Super Bowl promotion that Doritos ran earlier this year (and last year, too)? Fans were allowed to create and vote on ads to appear during the Super Bowl. Thousands of submissions and millions of video views were generated by this overwhelmingly successful promotion.
5. Zappos- This online shoe retailer is always one of the first companies mentioned when it comes to social media. While they have a host of blogs and video blogs, what has really captured consumer interest is their Twitter presence. 198 Zappos employees maintain active Twitter profiles, and a page on their website is devoted just to this. By enticing the public to “See what Zappos employees are doing right now†the company generates tons of interest in their Twitter campaign.
6. Crafty Chica- “Crafty†is the perfect word to describe site owner Kathy Cano-Murillo’s marketing strategy. When her book Art de la Soul was coming out, she used MySpace to connect directly with her target audience. By staying committed and being social, she was able to get nearly 2 million visitors to her website each month.
7. MTV- Hate them all you want for not showing music videos anymore (it’s not like the ones they played were good anyway), but you have to give MTV credit for knowing its target demographic. In addition to their widgets and blogs, MTV also promotes The Hills (gag) in Second Life. Furthermore, you can connect with their “reality†stars through the MTV website. 14 year old girls throughout the world are rejoicing!
Like I said, there are far more than 7 companies doing a great job of taking advantage of social media. I just don’t have room in this blog to cover every single one. Hopefully, this gives some of you who are still skeptical about the validity of social media some useful information.
Which companies would you add to this list?
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