Social Media
Social Media is established everywhere individuals connect
online and it is indisputable that people are being influenced by
resources made available across the web. This is good news for
marketing and public relations departments who are looking for
unique methods to engage online audiences and leverage the organic
nature of the web. As consumers become more and more reliant (or
demanding), organizations are being forced to re-think their
organizational communications strategies and the tools they use to
augment those efforts. Organizations must now consider how
individuals interpret and interact through means of social media,
whether or not they themselves actively participate.
Social media encompasses all things web 2.0: wikis, web logs
(blogs), social networking sites (Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace,
etc.) and a host of other existing and yet to emerge SAAS (Software
as a Service) technologies. These applications are relatively easy
to use and allow users to manage their own data and access them via
web browser or PDA. As such, online user roles are more diverse and
complex - and while their actions cannot be controlled, they can
provide useful insight that can be harnessed to leverage overall
brand affiliation and provide insight into product development - or
redevelopment.
While the tools of Web 2.0 are essentially free tools to use,
costs associated with implementation and maintenance must be
considered. Redengine employs a systematic approach to
determining how Social Media fits within your overall
communication, marketing and/or business strategy.
Why Social Media?
From a communication standpoint, there has never been a better
method to gather customer insight and feedback or to deploy an
early warning system so early intervention can arrest issues before
they become critical to your organization. The online experience is
entirely democratic and the tools of Web 2.0 have equally empowered
organizations and consumers to communicate with 24/7 access, which
means that things can - and do - gain momentum quickly.
Fundamentally, organizations cannot control the exchanges
surrounding their brand - whether or not they develop the forum -
but being an active participant (who participates to communicate as
opposed to persuade) enables a real time connectivity that has
formerly not existed. To communicate well, organizations must be
ready to accept both positive and negative feedback and must use
this information to right an organizational wrong - real or
implied. This requires commitment, consistency, organizational
openness and, above all, a solid underlying strategy.
We can help!
One of our claims to fame is that our employees are very good at
blending technology with communications. In fact, we employ
professionals from both disciplines on staff and have been marrying
the two into our solutions to deliver real business value for our
clients for years. We've always considered it important - and
that's truer today than ever. Call us to learn how Redengine
can help your organization using Social Media.
Case Studies: Fight Violence, Foothills Research
Institute, POSP