The social media landscape and where we fit in: a case study

Ryan_Schoenefeld_1 I’m pleased to introduce you to a new contributor. Ryan Schoenefeld is a recent graduate from St. Cloud State University, in which he focused on public relations, graphic design, digital marketing and communication. He has proven his social media marketing skills as you can read in his bio below. I’m glad Ryan decided to contribute to this blog that he has been following for quite a while now. Enough said, time for Ryan’s post.

In this day and age it has become increasingly important to create a business model that focuses on social media integration. With this in mind, an organization should obviously not stray from normal day-to-day business operations, but should consider establishing an on-line organizational presence.

This doesn’t necessarily mean only Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In and MySpace; take the time to explore your options and see what could be successful for your own organization.

All-in-all, the more transparent your company is, the easier it may be to connect with you. The intimidation of an organizational hierarchy may also be pushed to the side, considering your employees are easy to communicate with and can be accessed in a matter of seconds.

This approach was recently harnessed by Trident, in correlation to their new gum called Trident Layers. They recognized that people are continually communicating their opinions about products on-line, especially through Twitter. This allowed them to discover comments in regards to their fresh new type of gum.

Trident_layers_kl For those of you who haven’t been fortunate enough to try the new flavor, Trident Layers is apparently a diverse collection of tastes, with a rich, bold personality. Don’t worry, I am not speaking from experience and haven’t been acquainted with the new blend, so don’t feel out of the loop.

Tweets in a newspaper

Nonetheless, Trident apparently figured it out, and is using social media along with their traditional marketing approach.

This involved running a full-page advertisement in USA Today, which consisted of actual tweets from fans of their new type of gum. By the way, the individuals weren’t compensated for their remarks.

Trident discovered the comments by utilizing Twitter search and presented each person with various gum coupons; the coupons were granted in exchange for their perspectives being featured in their newly released advertisement. The advertisement also requests individuals to visit them on Twitter. 

There isn’t an exact formula for social media success

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Although, it is still unapparent as to whether or not the approach was successful, in directing traffic to their Twitter page. 

Remember there isn’t an exact formula for social media success; each company is different and should in a sense develop their own prescription regarding social media networking. Regardless of whether or not you are engaged in social media, you cannot deny that now more than ever, there are innovative avenues and mechanisms to reach more prospective clients.

Companies need to capitalize on this and see where it takes them, because without attempting it, how are you ever going to know if it could be successful?

All-in-all, the Internet creates an environment where information is constantly exchanged at a phenomenal rate. People are also increasingly using the Internet to discover knowledge that is being passed from individual to individual, which could directly involve products and services that businesses provide.

By taking the initiative and joining the continual conversation on-line, companies can document their ability to merge the traditional with the new, especially in a technologically advanced time. In a sense, you can control the message and overall appeal of your company, through the maintenance of an on-going, on-line entity.

Overall, I strongly believe this is a quality approach and should be an option for all businesses. Regardless of your size, you never know what implications social media can bring about.

Image Source: Google Images

Ryan Schoenefeld is a recent graduate from St. Cloud State University,
in which he focused on public relations, graphic design, digital
marketing and communication. Since graduation, he launched and analyzed a
social media marketing campaign for M Squared Group, a results-driven
marketing company in Minneapolis. He is currently a Web Content
Specialist at Health Partners and recently commenced The Continuous Disquisition.
You can connect with Ryan on Twitter
and on LinkedIn .

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