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MAY 10, 2010

MARKETING

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Social Media Turns Customers into Fans — and Friends

SUCCESS

BY JOSEPH BEDNAR og into the Facebook page for the Cruise Store, and you'll be hit with a barrage of videos, travel news and commentary, restaurant tips, off-thecuff surveys ... and the occasional special offer.

Hundreds of millions of people log ontoFacebook or Twitter — and often both — every day. Many simply check in with friends, share photos, and shoot the breeze. But a growing number of businesses are coming to see social media as an avenue for marketing, realizing that friends, fans, and followers can become (and remain) loyal customers. Social media isn't expected to supplant traditional advertising, but, integrated correctly, it can be aneffective part of a multifaceted marketing plan.

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MAY 10, 2010

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MARKETING

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Kelly Galanis says that even businesses (like colleges) that need to target different messages to different constituencies need to speak with a consistent voice.

"Our job is to keep our fans entertained," said Don Anderson, who owns the East Longmeadow-based travel agency. "And we've beensuccessful retaining customers and picking up new customers. The secret is in how the messages are delivered." The key, he said, is "just a hint of salesmanship," which he likened to the little bit of alcohol in a weak cocktail. "If it's all 'buy, buy, buy,' you'll lose fans, and people are going to avoid your page. What you want is to make it entertaining." It's working. His page boasts more than1,700 fans, many of whom respond regularly to the tidbits Anderson posts. "When that happens," he said, "you've created awareness of your company, and these people become customers, and recommend you to other people." That's a classic example of marketing a business through social media, said John Garvey, president of Garvey Communication Associates, which boasts the Cruise Store as a client. He saysthat too many businesses still don't understand the role of social media in engaging potential customers and driving sales. "They say, 'I have no time,'" Garvey told BusinessWest. "I say, 'do you have time to talk to your customers?' They say, *sure.' Well, I'm not sure what the difference is." Another Garvey client, the men's clothing store Jackson & Connor, fills its Facebook fan site with astream of fashion tips — one recent post reads, "belts are for fashion, not function. If your pants don't stay up on their own, come get them tailored" — designed to stimulate conversation, while promoting the Northampton-based shop's wares without being too overt That's where social media differs from traditional marketing; it's most effective when it's interactive. "It's not pitchy," Garvey said."Social media is certainly making it easier to communicate with people," said Christine Pilch, social media strategist, speaker, and trainer with Grow My

Company. "But keep in mind that, as a method of communication, it's a two-way street. "Where Web sites push, push, push information," she explained, "social media opens up a dialogue. If you're only looking to put up information aboutyourself, you're not giving people a reason to coimect with you." In this issue, BusinessWest explores the dual phenomena of Facebook and Twitter "Ifyou^re only — as well as other looking to put forms of social media — and how they're not up information replacing traditional about yourself advertising, but allowing companies to inteyou're not grate an exciting tool into their marketing giving people aefforts, all in an effort reason to to create that allimportant buzz. connect with

Making Connections

you."

Many professionals begin using social media for personal reasons and later come to realize its business potential. Realtor Lesley Lambert is a case in point. "Ï started with blogging, which led me to meeting a bunch of real-estate professionals around the country who were using...