I remembered an interesting insight being pointed out in class. “Social media is the ‘in thing’ now. So let’s have a facebook account!” I believe many companies say this countless times. But why exactly is a company employing social media – many of them might not know the reason. Many businesses fall into the trap of following the “latest trend” as they would like to “keep up” with other businesses.
Unfortunately, a social strategy is only as good as the brand strategy that guides it – brands must lead the consumer with a clear vision of who they are and what they stand for, while grounding all social engagement in that vision. The danger is that without a proper understanding of why you are employing social media, or what the needs of your consumers are, firms fail to deliver a cohesive and relevant brand message – causing their plans to backfire.
So, I would like to talk about a premier luxury hospitality company that allows its brand strategy to guide its social engagement. Four Seasons hotel has a mission to deliver exceptional “user” experience with the desired outcome of “making people (its consumers) feel great.” The company focuses heavily on designing experiences that are tailored to its customers. Recognising that successful brands are those that allow fans to define and syndicate it in this digital age, Four Seasons has shifted its ways of communication and digital media is now 50% of the brand’s marketing efforts. Its digital tools include Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, location-based services, tumblr, blogs and microsities, Google+, Weibo and an online Four Seasons Magazine site. Four Seasons even holds virtual wine tastings events through twitter, where customers can share descriptions and evaluations online. Recognizing that multimedia content has been the most effective in engaging consumers, Four Season strive to deliver interesting and relevant content, resulting in an increase in 30% youtube views (280 000 views).
That’s a successful example of using social media correctly! Indeed, I always like to visualize the brand strategy as the big umbrella – where your marketing strategies (offline or online) fall under that!