BSS/OSS: The Social Media Gap
A common thread runs through many BSS/OSS companies we met with at the recent B/OSS Conference and Expo. Too often, they overlook a vital tool in their PR programs: social media. It’s as if, for them, blogs, Facebook and Twitter just don’t exist.
Given the critical role of social media in PR and customer management, this oversight represents a major hole in communications. In a marketplace where differentiation is so critical to sales, your company needs to speak directly to customers and convey your vision on meeting their needs.
Blogs are a simple, cost-effective solution. A weekly or bi-weekly blog gives your company personality, putting leadership out-front to engage and establish a dialogue with customers. Customers love blogs. Unlike press releases, byline articles and other standard forms of corp comm, blogs have more leeway to be impromptu and candid. Because blogs are by “real people,” they win the trust essential to building relationships and sales. Averaging 300-400 words, they’re comparatively quick to produce. Blogs are also easy to disseminate across multiple social media vehicles. By linking to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, a blog can be immediately broadcast to a wide audience, driving more traffic to your web site.
Blogs are also much in demand with online media. Check out the blog page at B/OSS Magazine. Here, seven out of nine blogs are contributed pieces, some authored by corporate leaders, others by consultants and analysts. Whatever the source, it’s smart business: thought leaders leveraging social media to express their viewpoint, and in so doing, to stand out from the crowd.
I suspect that many companies will continue to ignore such opportunities, disdaining social media as a “nice to do” but non-essential business activity. It’s easy to find an excuse. “We lack the resources,”or “business is just fine, thank you, without our diving into social media” are the common refrains. A decade ago, some ignored Web 1.0 for similar reasons. The economy carried them for a time. Will it still?
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