A Marketing Issue: Presence in Social Networks

Source: TalkPoint

It's often heard nowadays, from marketing gurus to self-appointed connoisseurs, that any organization that doesn't have an internet presence - and particularly a social network presence - it's doomed. Is this true? Not so much, as the need for this tool (the web presense) depends on what the goals of the organization are. To give you an example, the need to advertise the organization is different for a corner store that serves a given community, and wouldn't have the capability to serve a larger market, than the requirements of a franchise that extends nationwide.

What would be the point of a Mom&Pop's store having an Instagram profile, uploading pictures hourly, viewed by the whole world, when they only sell in their neighborhood? And, no, not everybody wants to grow global. It's ok to say "enough".

Then, there are organizations that clearly can pull larger profit by having a web presence. However, here the question is, "What kind of Web Presence?".

The thing with the Internet presense is that organizations need to be mindful of what having this presence entails, what people expect and what does it demand from the company. The web presence, it's design and it's managing can make or break the whole image of a company. These cyber-spots - to call them somehow - are not an advertisement spot (only), but a booth, a virtual store, even when you can't sell your products and services through them. It will be there for clients, potential clients and people who are against the organization. Visitors will want to talk to someone knowledgeable, and have a satisfactory answer soon.

Many organizations, however, think that all they need is someone - anyone, maybe a Millenial - to pay marginal attention to this points of contact, and after they go on a spree to set profiles on any and every social network known to men, the maintenance and management falls short.

For a visitor - arguably - it could be better not to find a profile for a given organization on a web platform, than find one and discover that it is non-responsive. If you you find no profile, no web presence, you keep looking. If you find one, contact them (or try to and find no option), you are left with the feeling that "they don't care".

Let me give you an example from my own recent experience. I used to be a HUGE Starbucks fan. HUGE. I've got their mugs, their travel mugs, shopped at them for gifts, bought my ground coffee from them monthly, tried out their blends, and visited a store every week on average, though often, more than once a week. I had a date with myself (my Letter Writing Mondays) that took place at a Starbucks store. I easily left around $1000.00 yearly with them.

A month ago, I made a purchase through the Drive-Thru of one of the stores, on my way to class, and when I've got to the Uni, I realized an item was missing. I tweeted about it, tagging the company's local profile. They answered two days after, only because it was causing uproar, but the answer was insatisfactory, since they sent a cookie-cut message, promised to get back to me, but they didn't. 

They never did, regardless of the uproar it was causing. 

Three weeks after the incident, I tweeted again, told my followers that I was severing ties with Starbucks. I had given them time, and they have me a cold shoulder. I told my followers that I will not only no longer visit their stores - not locally, not abroad - but though I would not throw away my mugs, I will no longer feature the company logo or products in my social media. There was again uproar, people shared their experience about the company ignoring their complaints and so on, which is so weird, when you consider the excellent attention you get at the stores themselves, worldwide.

I wondered if it was because the person in charge of the social networks only checked in once a month, but upon checking, there was plenty of activity. The manager, however, was only interested in posting advertisement and replying to compliments.

Regardless of the excellent in-store eperiences I had, the terrible online treatment left me thinking the company actually doesn't care. The barista cares, the company doesn't give a flying fig. This was enough to move my $1000.00 business to another coffee shop, or a selection of coffeeshops and a new hobby of coffeeshop-discovering I've been doing lately. Totally love it, by the way.

But my case isn't unique, as the people who contacted me to complain show, and neither is Starbucks' case unique. Organizations that impose from the top the marketing decision of having web presence and do research about the social networks their target segment prefers, often forget that it's not enough to plan-design-decide-launch, but there needs to be awareness of what the effort entails. It requires understanding, dedication and resources, and also, a deep understanding of what the organization really needs, what their target segment really wants, and what can be afforded.

When you spend sometime on social networks, or in groups of people with intense social network presence, you are bound to find self-appointed experts that claim "social network presence is a NEED for any organization that wants to be successful". I've no doubt many marketing managers, and CEOs also buy into this idea, and so they stamp it on their companies as the must-to-succeed strategy. Just because everybody does it, you don't need to do it. Don't listed to marketing-know-it-all-gurus or trends. Listen to your clients, your target segment and your own company. Don't embark on something you don't have the capacity to finance or upkeep.

Better be small and smart, than big and fail.