Effective Use of Social Media

Emerging from the Blender: Lessons Learned from Mixing Traditional and Social Media Around the Globe
Traditional and social media—and the corresponding PR tactics—are often seen to be at odds in the changing communications landscape. However, many businesses fail to realize that most traditional media have embraced social media, and that the latter should be used to complement the former, not replace it. Using her company’s 2008-2010 global communications program as a case study, Alexandra Lawrenz, communications manager of TuneUp, will demonstrate the benefits of a blended approach to traditional PR and social media tactics. She will offer tips on building relationships with industry influencers and engaging target audiences in real-time. Alexandra will also discuss the importance of developing issues-driven content, to showcase a business’s core expertise, and reference industry research, including a recent Cision/GWU social media and online usage study, to support her presentation.

Alexandra Lawrenz - TuneUp

The influence of social network sites on marketing
This paper’s main objective is to examine the role of online social media and in particular social network sites in marketing. After reviewing the main features of the Internet as well as web marketing, the paper introduces new trends among customers that due to them marketers have found themselves in trouble. In some cases online social media especially social network sites have turned out to be a place for customers to speak out, thus a strategy is suggested to deal with potential danger that threatens the companies’ image. That potential danger can even end up as an opportunity for all marketers. In addition, advertising and word of mouth (WOM) as two major marketing approaches in social network sites are compared and WOM is concluded to be more effective simply according to nature of social network sites. Therefore, the paper highly suggests that marketers have to be aware of social networks sites’ role.

Iman Raoofpanah

Increasing Customer Loyalty with Social Media
Staying in contact with your customers is important – but it’s not easy. And it’s definitely time consuming. Traditionally, the resources a developer had revolved around a good database and a newsletter (which are still very useful). But things change. You need places where you can interact with your customers and your customers can interact with you. More and more developers are spending time on facebook, twitter, and other social media to stay in contact with customers … and finding that it’s actually building loyalty.

Wade Goodman - SoftCity