Social media is great for earning new fans and getting them to talk about you. But for Life Technologies, word-of-mouth was just the beginning of what the company could do with social media. The brand wanted to get enlightened.
In her presentation at SocialMedia.org‘s BlogWell conference in Los Angeles, Life Technologies’ global senior e-marketing manager for search and social, Robin Smith, explains how the deep relationships the company makes with its fans help influence the stuff the company makes and how it does business. This is about more than a crowdsourced marketing stunt — this is about a sustainable way to actively make your business better with social media.
Some key points from her BlogWell presentation:
- Customers relate to a person, not a company. Making real, human relationships with individuals, as individuals, is key to earning your fans’ trust and opinions. Smith says Life Technologies works hard to let employees have their own voice in social media.
- Making social less scary for your employees. A lot of employees shy away from engaging online because they’re afraid of screwing up. Smith explains how the brand helps anyone from an executive to a product manager feel comfortable contributing (and the reason that’s important).
- Social media can change how you do business. Smith talks about how social helped the company launch a product and even come up with a name for it. She explains how your social media fans can be a great resource if you take time to cultivate great relationships.
You can see Smith’s social media case study.
If you like this presentation, see more great social media case studies like it live at SocialMedia.org’s BlogWell conference April 17 in New York.