It has been a while since I last blogged. The past 3 weeks have been busy with work for me in the day, while the evenings were spent, trying to put together the final presentation and recommendation that I have on the social media project that I’m doing for my internship organization. Coming to the end of the internship, I would like to take some time to reflect on my learnings thus far:
I could still remember the challenge that my internship supervisor threw to me, on coming up with a social media project for them, targeted towards organizations and Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs). (SMEs make up a huge share of their business) Some of the thoughts that came to my mind were:
“Would SMEs take products marketed through social media seriously?”
“Is social media the right channel to reach out to the senior management and business owners?”
“Isn’t selling through social media a form of spamming, in which many organizations (and even individuals) love to stay away from?”
But after some research and analysis, there indeed is an opportunity through this channel. With the evolution of the Internet and online communities, people are finding new ways to reach out for information, away from the traditional media. This aids the organization as well, as social media is almost a cost free (not including wages!) approach to raise awareness.
With online communities, people with similar interests tend to gather, and word of mouth becomes a powerful tool as viral marketing, with recommendations from peers seen as a reliable source.
Thus, for an organization to reach out to these businesses, special attention should be paid to ensure that messages are not seen as spamming, but as a source that also engages and adds value to the community. The key approach is to be subtle.
These are some of the key findings and summary that I have learnt. I will be making a presentation to my internship organization next week. Wish me luck and I will share with you all on the outcome! See you then!
1 comment:
Good luck with presenting your findings! Hope it all goes well for you.
I can relate. At my internship I have been given the task of a social media project as well, through my own suggestion. When I first started my organisation wasn't even on the social media radar. I have now implemented a social media campaign for a fundraising event that they run, and so far they seem to love the results.
I think with the ever evolving role of the media, businesses must find new ways of staying current with how they communicate and interact with their audience. Not only that but grab the opportunities that are present and that these changes create. You're exactly right about online communities and word of mouth creating a powerful recommendation for products and services. And absolutely, as PR practitioners we need to remember that people are still people, we need to provide them with something that interests them, speaks to them and provides them with value. Otherwise why would they interact with it further or tell their friends about it?
I hope your organisation recognise the hard work that you have put into your project and choose to run with your recommendations.
Wishing you the best of luck with your presentation and the rest of your internship.
-Alyce
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