Last week I was invited by the b2b centre at Warwick Business School to do a presentation on social media. I had to present how KSBKids are using social media to increase its online footprint.
What do I know you may ask……….well, very little in fact. But even so the guys down there had invited me a long.
I have had no training on social media, attended no courses on the subject – but I try the best I can to grow awareness of KSBKids through social media. I try things out, evaluate the results and modify and adjust as I go along. It is without doubt a learning process.
Why am I interested in social media? I find it very exciting that a small company like mine can with very limited funds create awareness and increase sales. Traditional marketing channels would not have given me the same opportunities without committing a large budget.
Working facebook, twitter and blog is great for increasing awareness and raising your ranking in the search engines. However, like anything else I think it is important that you define your strategy clearly. What are your goals? What are you actually trying to achieve? How are you gonna do it?
Social media is not something you should just do when you have 5 minutes spare. It takes time, you need to be plan it, be consistent, push your brand awareness and pick the challenges where your customers interact. It is a long process and results will not come immediately.
My target market is to be found on Facebook, consequently Facebook is my main focus. Although Linkedin is great I dont think it will drive customers to my site in the way facebook can. Linkedin is tremendous for advice and building your network. But from a viral marketing perspective I think Facebook will provide the best opportunities for my business. The way Facebook presents “update” is viral marketing at its best.
Finally it is crucial to be consistent. On the www.ksbkids.com website you will see many links to the facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/KSBKids/43020354914 . Customers can link straight to the facebook fan page, but they also have the option to click the Facebook icon under individual items of children’s clothes which will then show up on their facebook page and be visible to all their friends.
Blog entries can be added to customers Facebook page , delivery notes mentions the Facebook page etc. etc. and I am currently trying to ensure that all these channels (blog, website, facebook) visually look the same. It is coming back to the point raised earlier about pushing the brand.
I believe people like buying from a person – hopefully Facebook will help me to establish a successful online business.
KSBKids and social media.
