Are you a 'follower', 'a friend' ..or neither?

Why do we have friends or followers in the online world? If someone called me my friend and I didn’t even know what they looked like I’d be very worried and if someone started following me and I didn’t know what they looked like I’d be even more concerned! But in today’s online world this is perfectly normal..

I am quite ashamed to admit that I have over 600 friends on Facebook, 100 friends on MySpace and over 100 followers on Twitter. And out of all these contacts I’d say I probably only see or speak to about 2% on a monthly basis... yet in today's world this is not abnormal and for today's generation quite standard. But how does today's marketer take advantage of this?

For marketers and businesses social media friends and followers has created an entirely new chapter in their history. The availability of these ‘friends’ and ‘followers’ means that brands today can reach out to more people, more efficiently and in more cost effectively way. In addition, these friends also form a free audience sample which can be used for a very cheap research project!

A genuine goldmine yes they are but marketing through social media has to follow some very important guidelines:

1 - Don't be too aggressive

Marketers need to remember that these networks are very personal for many users and as a result campaigns cannot shadow their consumers’ every move. Marketers need to give them space and let consumers find them. Build an offer and if it’s good enough, “they will come.” One can do a lot of damage to their brand if they are too aggressive. As they say it can take a many years to build a reputation, and one minute to ruin it.

2 - Give so that they may grow

People naturally need a reason to give up their time. As a result marketers need to provide an incentive for returning friendship. "Come check out our sale", "mention today's key word and get a further 10% off" or "sign up for our newsletter and get a free sample of our product." The day a brand's community starts giving something back to their friends and followers is the same day the same friends and followers create a greater affinity with your brand and hopefully when you will start seeing increases in your sales.

3 - Use your social media for feedback about your brand / product

A an open forum where cosumers can give you feedback about product. Don't you have to pay big $$$ for that? Not in this day and age! Social media tools give brands the opportunity to ask questions and get answers that only research companies have been able to retrieve for you in the past. So why not use social media just for that reason? One will need to tie it in with a promotion eg 20% off for all those tell us their most favourite and least favourite flavour. But in the social world everyone love giving an opinion so all you have to do is ask!

If anyone else has any tips for best using a friendship base let me know!