Social media

As social networks are becoming more and more popular, the functional possibilities are evolving as well. The most popular social networks of Latvia – Facebook, Twitter and Draugiem.lv for some time are offering an option to setup your own visual themes – skins, colors etc. so that the users would be able to customize their accounts and show off their creativity, originality or, for example, to advertise their company and products. Social network applications are usually used to attract additional traffic, new followers and potential customers to the company’s social profile.

Social network benefits for companies:

• Promotes the company’s reputation, attracts additional attention, new followers and potential clients
• Additional news channel, which makes it possible to rapidly communicate about new products, services, discounts, events, job offerings etc.
• Social profile provides a more personal communication with the clients and social network users
• Feedback and recommendations from followers and other social network users. Word of mouth is a very strong and reliable way to promote your business
• Helps to understand additional information about the needs and questions of the company’s clients and those people who are not yet clients -you can find out the reasons why is that
• Additional traffic from search engines (SEO), because when people are looking information on the website about some products, services, they might find your company’s social network profile

The fact of having company’s social profile and active use of it will also prevent other users from creating fake profiles of your company and abusing its name and reputation.

Company’s Twitter account

Twitter is a very powerful communication tool, which reaches far beyond the digital horizons and I guess we all have already felt that in one or another way. This social platform is usually being used to communicate short messages, thoughts, ideas and some visual pictures or videos.

The benefits of Twitter for companies:

• The search of new employees
• Immediate questions and responses
• Immediate and wide feedback potential
• Information about what your competitors are doing and providing

Company’s Facebook and Draugiem.lv accounts

Facebook and Draugiem are kind of similar in a lot of ways (of course each of them has its own nuances, but all in all they are similar), while quite different from Twitter. Twitter, as already mentioned, is used to communicate short information messages, while Facebook and Draugiem can be used to communicate a lot longer ones and besides that, they allow you to integrate applications, create additional pages, register business profiles, insert image and video galleries etc.

Although all three previously mentioned social networks are evolving rapidly and stealing ideas one from another, Facebook and Draugiem right now are offering more possibilities.

The benefits of Facebook and Draugiem for companies:

• The inclusion of Twitter message flow in the page or on the wall (Draugiem are currently trying to forbid this)
• Quick communication of news, dicounts and other information
• Reflection of company’s events via images and videos
• Integration of applications to attract new followers, potential customers, build trust and reputation
• Detailed representation of company’s contact information

Social networking communication guidelines

Whatever you say in the internet stays in the internet, this is why you should very carefully consider everything that you are giving out for public.

Social network DO’s:

• Write about things you would normally talk about in public
• Communicate with others as you would do in person
• Reply to the questions that are addressed to you and engage in public discussions – be social
• Ask question about the services and products your company is offering, ask what people like about them and what they don’t
• Share news, public gratitudes and interesting events
• Use your social profile for campaign activities
• Be friendly

Social network DONT’s:

• Don’t talk just about the services and products your company is offering, time after time post something that is not directly linked to the company business (e.g. a funny video, great song, event)
• Don’t be introverted and don’t be silent
• Don’t be rude and aggressive

If social networking communication is done properly, it can become one of company’s cheapest and most powerful tools of marketing. Those who will not tame this media will fall behind the ones, which will have tamed the power of social networks.