Organisations in the Middle East are increasingly choosing to be ‘part of the online conversation’ with consumers.
Once considered to have an exclusively social function, social media is now being used by companies to engage with their customers directly, since it serves as an optimal platform to reach out and communicate with a broad spectrum of people.
In fact, a survey conducted by Facebook recently revealed that 49 per cent of people feel better about a brand after they see its presence on Facebook.
In addition, a Twitter survey demonstrated that 70 per cent of people have formed a positive perception of a brand though Twitter – as well as revealing that 50 per cent of Mena Twitter users are from the UAE - thereby demonstrating that social media has become a powerful tool for companies in this region to enhance the image of their brand.
Using social media for commercial campaigns
The most important goal for any company is to understand and study the need and demand of a respective market.
This will allow them to engage with and reach out to their target audience.
Researching and understanding consumer insights prior to launching any campaign is imperative, as this serves to demonstrate that a given company cares about consumer needs.
One of the main advantages of launching campaigns via social media platforms is that for small, simple initiatives, it suffices to use social networks to spread the message, rather than paying for advertising on them.
And for larger campaigns, companies can even use the networks’ own advertising channels.
Furthermore, should a more sophisticated advertising model be required, advertisers can create their own social media applications as well as interactive sites which are promoted on the networks.
More and more companies are using social media as part of their brand strategy, and many companies are very active in this field, including du, Aramex, RAK Bank and governmental bodies, to name just a few.
The companies who are running the most successful campaigns are putting a lot of efforts and resources into better understanding the market.
du has seen the growing power of social media in the UAE and is focused on adopting emerging and innovative social media platforms.
Building relations with clients via social media
Social media provides companies with a two-way communication platform, where they actually have the opportunity to get direct feedback from consumers.
It’s more effective than the traditional way of communication in terms of having a direct response straight away, as companies can act on a query or complaint immediately.
Social media is fast creating a new customer care channel, delivering a unique and highly interactive experience to consumers. du has embraced the social media sphere with its ‘@dutweets’ account on Twitter, which has rapidly become a busy interface to receive customer comments, resolve issues and generally strengthen customer relations.
Unlike conventional phone-based customer service, Twitter brings the conversation to a public forum, meaning that satisfied customers become brand advocates. Furthermore, du has recorded a noticeable increase in e-sales as a result of relevant tweets being channeled to du’s online store.
However, on the flip side, businesses should be wary of using social media when they cannot deliver on a promise, as if a product or service does not live up to the marketing claims, social media opens the door to a floodgate of bad press, harming relations with potential and existing clients.
Just as with PR, it is important to be transparent, consistent and credible, as you can easily lose credibility if you run a campaign where you make a promise to your consumers and you do not deliver on that promise.
This will damage your brand and your credibility as a company.
The consistency of the communication flow is imperative as this again enhances the credibility of a company.
Also, it is vital to understand the right way to approach customers via the social media platform in order to help a company achieve better and more impactful results.
The writer is , Chief Commercial Officer, du
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