4 valuable social media lessons to learn from IBM

When a marketing chief from a forward-thinking business like IBM shares how social media has helped them to boost sales, loyalty and brand engagement, it’s time to pay attention. Ed Abrams, VP of Marketing of IBM Midmarket Business spoke to smallbiztrends.com – and while the focus is on SMEs, the advice is clearly useful for businesses of any size. Here are the top four takeaways from Abrams’ interview:

1. Accept that the conversation has shifted

Social marketing is still off the radar for many businesses, who argue that they don’t need social media, as they never needed it before. They rely on their tried and tested direct mailings, in-store promotions and so on, resisting change. Abrams argues that the communication landscape has changed. “It’s no longer acceptable to push messages out in the marketplace. The power in the communication chain has shifted from the marketer to that of the end user, the audience. They have control of the conversation,” he says.

What does this mean for IBM? Largely – participation in conversations their audience is already having. This has driven engagement, improved brand perception and even purchase consideration for IBM. Show up where and how your consumers want you to – more than ever, that means getting involved in social media.

2. Search drives decisions

According to Abrams, 85% of customers’ decisions to interact with a brand begin with a search. To ensure your business appears there, you need to make certain that people are talking about your brand. IBM is putting search at the core of its social media strategy, creating content that will show up when users search for the brand or any of its products.

3. Maximise real-time feedback from social media

Speaking realistically, IBM does not need social media for brand awareness. Everyone knows IBM. So what are they hoping to achieve with social media? Abrams cites the benefits of real-time feedback, which can establish in an instant what used to take months of research. Social media offers a unique opportunity for real-time dialogue with consumers, offering the precious information that businesses need to be successful.

4. Know where to start the conversation

Fear of having nothing to talk about is the biggest inhibitor for SMEs tackling social media, according to smallbiztrends. To combat this, Abrams offers pre-written messages to his team, highlighting what IBM wants put out there in the social space. While these starting points don’t censor the ensuing conversations, they ease those fears over posting that first tweet or Facebook status update. According to Abrams, the power of social media lies in the intelligence within your organisation. All you need to do is unleash that intelligence.