SELLING WITH W.O.M. IS OK:

Sceptics of social media ROI take note: last week ReadWriteWeb has used the news to reinvigorate the debate about what exactly brands should be using Twitter for. Should we be expecting social media to deliver these kind of direct sales? Does it encourage brands to think in terms of one-way messaging without respecting microblogging’s two-way, conversational roots?

Regular readers of this blog will know how much emphasis we put on helping clients

understand the value of word of mouth beyond precisely measurable stats and sales.  However, it’s important that we don’t forget that consumers out in social media also want a brand to be a brand: to provide easily accessed, accurate information and expertise - in fact, to sell us stuff, albeit good stuff, that we want, and that has been developed thanks to plenty of listening to our feedback and needs.

As ReadWriteWeb point out, Dell can get away with tweets geared towards ‘hard’ ROI because they also invest in ’soft’ ROI by engaging in listening and conversation as well as pushing deals and product pages. OK, so @DellOutlet is only following 23 people - not exactly a model of reciprocity - but its 644,016 followers don’t seem to mind. They know what it’s there to do. Dell keeps its tweets regular, simple and up-to-date, and the strength of its voice and clarity of its purpose - to help people find the best products for them - is refreshing.

Many companies I talk to have a crisis of confidence in social media, almost feeling that they should hide their commercial priorities under a patina of irrelevant chat.  The truth is,  I don’t really care what the CEO had for breakfast or what he’s listening to on Spotify.  Branded social presences need to strike the balance between listening and responding to consumers, but also actually being open, direct and unashamed about who they are and what they have to offer...  ~ Regards,  Ashe…  IT Bloke, {G.B.}.