Enterprise microblogging is just "vase" decoration, whose fault?

Author @ Shou manages to focus on marketing upgrades

"What exactly is Weibo?" Is that the 140 words? ”
"Why do companies open Weibo accounts?" What can I get? Sales promotion? or brand promotion? ”...

The above sounds are the most frequently proposed topics in communication with many business decision-makers or marketing leaders. In the face of their questions, in response to some biased technical aspects of the concept of the answer, it seems that they are not satisfied with this answer. So, would like to use this article to tidy up the idea, to find a convincing themselves can let business operators understand the answer.

Sina Weibo as the representative of the personal microblogging boom has been rising for nearly 3 years, it can be said that the overall social area of the heat has not retreated, and enterprises with micro-BO fever has been blowing. After the advent of a group of business applications, represented by Mr. Chen Liang's book, Social Marketing, a marketing force for everyone's participation, triggered a large number of business operators and marketing people to explore the enthusiasm, but the following problems are: In the lively behind more of the results and goals of confusion and missing. Send 140 words, and "consumer" online communication, launch a vote, carry out "micro-activities", the corporate behavior of "micro-live", the pursuit of fan size ... A lot of behavior behind but clearly see decision-making blind and execution of disorder.

Writing here, I suddenly thought of the recent three more concerned about the news-

First, Mr. Chao, Sina's CEO, has postponed the commercial operation of Microblogs again, which means that Sina's business model, which is better able to help companies improve their micro-blogging operations to meet their business needs, remains unclear. And why? Is the enterprise's demand realistic? But why can't the two sides butt in?

Second, the global FMCG giant, Procter and Gamble, announced a significant reduction in the traditional brand-spreading budget while significantly increasing the cost of social media. At the same time, Procter and Gamble organizes the global high-level collective to carry on the training and the exchange of socialization marketing. What does the global advertising giant mean by "a liter and a drop" in its annual communications budget?

Third, the Austrian-American China in 2011 to carry out a major internal restructuring, and digital marketing-related departments have been raised to a higher and more important organizational status, will be more resources and policy support. At the same time, it is stipulated that all members of the Austrian-American China must set up micro-blogging accounts and give special rewards and support to the outstanding employees of their personal accounts. What does this internal adjustment mean?

Perhaps you will ask why you should cite these three news. Let's take a look at the main characters of these three stories: Sina Weibo, the leading brand of Chinese social media, Procter and Gamble, the world's largest consumer brand and advertiser, and Ogilvy, the world's most prestigious marketing communications service organization. Three leading actors can be said to be China, and even the global market vane, they guide the latest business direction and development trend.

When these three giants invariably focus on the "microblogging" as the representative of the social media, my mind flashed out three words: "Heaven" to change.

What is the change, the situation is different, the law is unusual, rule replacement. Looking back over the past decade, as business operators and market practitioners will find: both internal employees, or external consumers, it seems increasingly difficult to grasp and pondering; the past incentives and incentives are difficult to impress them in accordance with the direction of business expectations, their "personality" is increasingly highlighted. So many newspapers and magazines and news media have a special topic to discuss this phenomenon. This is the rise of social media background, that is, as the most basic unit of society and Business Operation-people, more and more pursuit of individual attributes and value highlighting.

Therefore, in the context of the popularization of Internet technology, in foreign countries with Facebook, Twitter and Youtobe as the representative, in the domestic Sina Weibo, Renren and Tudou as the representative of the emergence of social media, as its time to cater to and meet the social trends brought about by the demand. The essence of social media is the service platform of media, the real content comes from users who log on to these sites, which means that every registered user can make, publish, search, and share any topics and related content of interest in this social media using the services and applications provided by the platform. So as to establish a own self-media! Think is very exciting thing, that is to say, Sina Weibo registered nearly 200 million users, it means that there are 200 million from the media every day through Sina Weibo release and exchange a variety of social, commercial, cultural, entertainment and other content. As you can see, the biggest difference between media and traditional media is that the right to speak has returned to the hands of users (consumers). Really realized the sentence: My site I am the master.

Review traditional enterprises to carry out the way to communicate with consumers, can be summed up in a sentence: money to buy a yell. The amount of money decided to yell the intensity and coverage of the size of the consumer listen to not hear, only God knows. That's the most popular cold joke in the advertising industry: advertisers spend half their money, but you never know which half to waste.

This is not the core of the problem, the core is that the traditional model of the consumer and corporate brand in the dialogue is in an unequal position: companies and brands can be condescending to consumers to instill their desire to spread the voice and information, and consumers are very difficult to convey their real voice to the enterprise, unless the extreme situation occurred. But when Weibo emerges, consumers can freely release their views and attitudes towards enterprises and brands with the help of their own media. And with the acquaintance of friends or strangers to interact, the fastest way to build a network and channels of communication, and enterprises in the process will find themselves almost "powerless."

If the user happens to be more influential, more attention than the user type, then the impact of this public opinion on the shock wave will let enterprises and brands instantly fell into a public relations whirlpool and difficult to extricate themselves, last year, the outbreak of "Luo vs Siemens" incident is the best footnote. With this kind of media, consumer dependence and trust in traditional media will be greatly reduced, they are more willing to believe that the consumer's own voice and information for a particular brand as a basis for their consumption procurement.

This is the new environmental change that companies and brands will face in future business operations: Consumers are increasingly proactive in conversations with companies and brands, regardless of whether they are accepted or rejected by companies or brands.

If our consumers identify with the products and services of the enterprise, they will be very conscious of their pleasant experience through micro-bleomycin and understanding and do not know friends to share their feelings, to attract them to become enterprises and brand consumers; if they have a bad product and service experience, They also vent their grievances and complaints through micro-bleomycin, thus affecting the final decisions of other consumers who are prepared to accept your products and services. More crucially, unlike traditional media operations, it is hard to merchants. (Recommended reading: Talking about the rise of social consumers)

When we understand the nature of Weibo and the fundamental changes that have been brought about, let's look at some of the things that are going on in the microblogging business today-

Phenomenon one: Spend money to buy fans.

After many companies opened their microblog accounts, Weibo fans reached hundreds of thousands of, or even millions, in just a few weeks. Imagine this and traditional marketing in the "money to buy a yell" What is the difference, not to mention in the traditional mode of money can really buy a yell, but in the micro-bo money to buy in addition to "zombie powder", or "zombie powder", even a yell did not. So real content to attract real fans (consumers), even if only thousands of fans, its value is far more than hundreds of thousands of zombie powder brought about by the face of the project.

Phenomenon two: Micro Bo become disguised official website.

Many enterprises to open a micro-blog account, the non-stop introduction of the Generals, Enterprise dynamics, product information, promotional activities such as the release of the official website has become the second. Remember, in the micro-blogging world, enterprises and ordinary microblogging users (consumers) is the total equality of two subjects, that is, the exchange between you should be equal, enterprises should learn to "behave" and "speak", only so can really attract consumers to pay attention to you. Think about what kind of friend attracts us most? Humorous, tactful, and content. I think we all know.

Phenomenon Three: micro-activities have become a "micro-promotion."

Many enterprises in the opening of micro-blog accounts, the provision of "micro-activity" application to publish a variety of promotional information in order to attract consumers to buy, and pull the final sales. The actual results often backfire, the initial seems to have some effect, the more the effect is worse, even the number of fans decline. This is not surprising, users (consumers) landing on Weibo for what? Looking for product offers and promotional information? Surely not, if it is, that Weibo loses its value and meaning. When the enterprise continuously through the micro-bleomycin release promotional information, the attention of users how to see it? The original brand is a "sell peddler", in addition to constantly to sell me products and services, provide no I am interested in content, such a "friend" does not pay.

Phenomenon Four: The micro-blogging interaction becomes "Ling".

Many enterprises in the face of users feedback products and services, can not calmly respond to, but with the user on the micro-blog on the open debate, the original very natural brand and user interaction into a very high degree of concern "social hot spots", the end of the enterprise often become the target, since Swallow bitter fruit. It is absolutely foolish to argue with users on Weibo, because you don't always know what the user's real motives are, maybe it's just a personal emotional vent (it's likely that your products and services happen to be the contact point for this emotional vent), and maybe it's a competitor's deliberate business behavior to induce you to make a mistake. Therefore, in the face of the user issued a variety of sound, attentively listening, serious motives analysis, to make the most appropriate behavior feedback is the most rational way enterprises should take.

(Recommended reading: 7 Enterprises not suitable for social media symptoms)

Talk about a lot of the above, nature will return to a very central question: in the end how to deal with micro-blogging as the representative of the rise of social media? Here, I suggest that enterprises can start from the following aspects-

1) Correct positioning

Correct understanding of micro-Bo as the representative of social media, to give reasonable value expectations, refused to be quick. Weibo can be a window of interaction between brands and consumers, can be the display of enterprise product value and brand value of the window, can become the enterprise decision makers to observe the target consumer needs and behavior of the window, can become the transmission of brand ideas and corporate value of the platform, and sales expectations in the above several items did not reach before slowing down again.

2) System thinking

The micro-blog into the enterprise's overall marketing operations planning, become an enterprise marketing behavior is not an isolated behavior. In designing and planning the overall marketing target and strategy path, the enterprise must integrate the micro-blogging operation into it, and give the micro-blog the necessary market mission and operation target according to the market target that the enterprise wants to achieve. If the enterprise in the sales season when the implementation of the dynamic marketing plan, it is necessary to consider transforming the core content of the mobile sales scheme into a lively "micro-blog" to attract the attention of the target consumers, and to form the promotional behavior which echoes the traditional offline terminals and traditional communication channels, which will greatly promote the final achievement and the promotion of the brand value.

3 System operation

Enterprise Micro-Blog operation must have a matching mechanism to follow up. Any kind of online micro-blogging operations should not only be a single act on the line, but should have a matching mechanism to follow up, even if only to send an interesting product information, but also to actively interact with the target consumer, and then seriously observe the target consumer's response, And in view of this kind of reaction enters the thorough analysis after the enterprise's database system to provide the enterprise operator as the basis which the management decision-making.

4) included in the preparation

On the basis of the original functions of the marketing department to give the new work mission and task "enterprise social media operators", in the circumstances allow the establishment of special positions or teams to operate, it can directly to the marketing Director or brand director of responsibility. In other words, for micro-blogging operations, enterprises must be included in the marketing organization structure system, become the Enterprise Marketing Department of an important function and mission, into the Marketing organization assessment system, so as to truly "into the establishment, dedicated full-time special."

5 Mining brand connotation, learning "micro-language"

From the brand core value and connotation of mining content elements, learn to say "micro-language", with "words" and the consumer equal dialogue, advocating what, against what, to consumers to leave a clear understanding and brand impression. Enterprise Micro-Blog content design can not be spring, not lowbrow, not unreasonable, Enterprise micro-Bo is still operating behavior, which also determines the content design must be related to the enterprise, this correlation from where? Enterprises are not complicated: corporate culture, corporate values, brand values, brand propositions, product core selling points, the internal staff of the inspiration, the target consumer's "fancy" ... Can be used to process the publication of corporate microblogs, even if it is not original content, it is also clear that the contents of the forwarding and the enterprise and brand has intrinsic relevance, only so that in the eyes of the target consumers to leave a deep and clear brand, and the Enterprise and brand in the past the imprint has a link and match, to avoid the emergence of " The same brand of two kinds of sound two pieces of skin "awkward." In particular, it is useful to note that corporate microblogs should not be involved in politically sensitive topics, but also as far as possible in the social hot topics that do not form final conclusions. Summarize the 5 features of "micro-language"-

· Clear views;
· Concise content;
· Match the problem of drawing up;
· Style unification;
· Words are brisk;

6 Creativity First

Good content needs good performance. How to present the originality from the form of expression will directly decide whether the content of the design can really catch the eyeball of the target audience. Therefore, the release of content is only the beginning, how to focus on the content of the copy, graphical creative performance, so that the content of more tension to really let the Enterprise Micro-blog.

7) do a good job selection

Operation Enterprise Weibo can refer to the characteristics and rules of media operation, especially the content design link can refer to the media operation method, the introduction of "topic selection mechanism". That is, you can plan the annual micro-blogging operation of the core theme, and then each month for the monthly theme of the study planning, once the determination of the monthly topics, around the monthly selection of topics to find and design micro-blog content, so as to ensure the order of micro-blog content distribution and unity.

8 clever use of various micro-blogging tools

Deep excavation of micro-bo platform on a variety of application tools, rich in micro-blog content at the same time, can be in interaction with consumers to achieve a "multiplier effect." In micro-blogging platform has a large scale, a variety of micro-applications, different micro-applications have different functions, can have different attractions to the target consumers. The content and activities that need to be published are presented and transmitted with different micro-applications. Therefore, enterprise microblogging operators must have a clear understanding of the various applications of micro-blogging platform, especially with the operation of a number of related application, how micro-activities, voting, micro-live, large screen ...

I believe that the above 8 aspects can help business operators and specific operators to understand the relatively clear enterprise micro-blogging operation framework and ideas, but to really skilled and effective operation of the enterprise micro-bleomycin for the overall operation of the enterprise services, to achieve business and brand-win, we must in the continuous practice of summary and innovation. Micro-blogging operations for enterprises is a new topic, this is not a choice, but the next decade all brand enterprises must attach great importance to the business behavior, that is, how the brand enterprises through micro-blog for the representative of the social media operations to meet the coming digital era. Now the earlier the enterprise, in the future of the digital wave in order to waves and retreat freely. (Recommended reading: 2012 Principles of social Media marketing success)

It's not your fault to think of corporate Weibo as just a "vase", but if you're just content with it, do you think you are right?

This article link: http://www.socialbeta.cn/articles/social-change-marketing-2012.html

Author @ Shou Management focus on marketing upgrade (Lian-Zhi Tatsu Advisory Group Internet Marketing Center)