By now, most savvy small business owners will be acquainted with the phrase "social media." It's that catch-all phrase that refers to the boom of social networking tools such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and MySpace.
Such interactive media have become standard tools for promotion, marketing, networking and communicating. They're making traditional media such as radio, newspapers and magazines look old-fashioned, slow, and expensive. In order to have a competitive edge, some companies are even creating positions for "social media managers" -- sure to become a vital new position to any progressive company.
Thomas Stringham, president and creative director of Vancouver-based Hot Tomali Communications.
Thomas Stringham, president and creative director of 11-year-old, Vancouver-based Hot Tomali Communications, is a firm believer in the power of social media. His agency uses Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn for their own purposes as well as those of its clients.
In terms of cost alone, the numbers make sense, says Stringham.
"Clients ask us to produce a 30 second TV spot and we say, 'for your budget, we can make an ad and run it for a week, or do a social media platform for you and manage it for a year.
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"We did an entire campaign for a client for just over $250,000. With a traditional campaign using newspaper and radio, you would have spent that just on production. The return for investment is a lot higher."
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For Hot Tomali Communications, their use of social media started out simply enough. The company started using Twitter to send out news such as they'd moved offices or won an award, or announcing a new campaign that could be seen on YouTube. But Stringham discovered that unlike posting on a website, with Twitter, people would instantly respond.
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"Next thing you know, I'd tell them that we just got a new client and I'd get five replies from different people in the Twitter community saying, 'Congrats, hey we worked with them, go check this out.'"
Now the company uses Twitter to post relevant industry links such as news articles. The company is also planning to use social media such as LinkedIn to scout for new employees. Because LinkedIn requires the user to register with a profile that details experience and industry connections, it makes for a useful tool for any human resources manager. If a person leaving an agency should approach Hot Tamali for a job, their chances of getting a response through LinkedIn are a lot higher than making a cold call. It's an immediate networking connection.
"They can send a message through LinkedIn, and if I want to connect with that person I can," says Stringham. "Twitter works the same way."
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Stringham has also used LinkedIn as a business development tool, when approaching senior contacts at companies such as Nike with promotional ideas. As the board member for a non-profit, he's also used LinkedIn to track down possible speakers.
When using social media for promotional purposes, Stringham tells clients that it's going to be effective if they follow a couple of rules. The client should be directly involved, and the social medium used should be relevant to whatever the client is selling. He cites a campaign they did for a union that involved installing a huge LED clock onto a truck that showed the numbers of unemployment statistics in real time, updating every 50 seconds. As the truck went across the country Flickr photos were uploaded to iPhones and within seconds were on the campaign website. Similar video footage was uploaded onto YouTube. Both Flickr and YouTube don't require professional photography or videography, so they proved cheap marketing tools that enabled people to keep track of the campaign. As a bonus, the campaign caught the attention of traditional media, and racked up about 30 newspaper and radio interviews.
For clients who are new to the idea of interactive media, they might need convincing to become involved in the process, adds Stringham. It's not the same tool as buying ad space in the newspaper and passively waiting for it to pay off. Social media are just that -- tools that require regular social interaction.
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"Unless they've worked on the professional marketing side of it, they are probably not going to have the same understanding as someone who does it on a day-to-day basis. We're immersed in it.
"You almost want your client to become a student of social media because you want them to become part of the conversation.
"And it's a two-way conversation."
