Social Media: from the perspective of a 21 year-old intern
Posted by Mark Campanale on Mon, Jul 20, 2009 @ 01:17 PM
By Andrea Little, Marketing Intern
It all started with MySpace.
As a rebellious 16 year-old, I made a profile behind my mom's back complete with self-taken pictures, a hot pink background, and a Jimmy Eat World single. Soon after, I left MySpace for Facebook.
Now, I'm also a tweeter, a YouTube user, a blogger, and a LinkedIn user. (No idea what these mean? Read my "Social Media Dictionary.")
I admit that at one point, I was confused why a person would ever need so many different places to talk about themselves.
But during my time as a Communications major, I've realized that the social media phenomenon is bigger than sharing pictures from last night's party or telling the world what you ate for dinner. Social media presents a completely new platform for companies to reach their customers, connect with current and potential employees, and leverage themselves above the competition by humanizing their products and services.
What I learned about Advertising, Marketing, Public Relations, and Journalism four years ago is now outdated. Companies and media agencies who do not keep on top of social media trends and digital technologies will also become outdated.
A Social Media Success Story
This example comes from Queensland, Australia's Cummins Nitro advertising agency. With a relatively small budget of $1.7 million, the "Best Job in the World" campaign was exposed to more than three billion people worldwide and generated more than $150 million in publicity value.
How did they do it? A huge part of the campaign's success was the use of free, worldwide social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. The winner of the contest continues to blog, tweet, and share photos on Flickr while he acts as island caretaker. (Read more about the campaign here.)
Triumvirate's Social Media Success
Since the marketing interns (Becca, Lindsey, and I) began helping Mark Campanale with Triumvirate's website and social media accounts in June, our website traffic rank has increased from around 3 million to 1.6 million (lower is better). Our work on search engine optimization has attracted new customers and accounts.
Where our competitors are stagnant, we are gaining standing, and where they are absent, we have a huge presence. Our 200+ Twitter followers include global environmental organizations, activists, and customers. We've been referenced alongside the LA Times and recommended to other Twitter users by well-known environmentalists.
We've made connections with clients and prospects from healthcare, higher education, industrial and life sciences on YouTube and LinkedIn. And our Facebook page has over 300 friends and fans.
To quote marketer Sarah Hofsetter, "Covering your ears is not a viable strategy." Utilize social media, and you will enhance your reputation and enrich your personal and professional networks.