Savvy businesspeople know that SOCIAL media offers powerful new tools for communicating
their brands. The ways they embrace it are as creative and varied as the venues
available, from YouTube interviews with doctors and patients to Facebook pages for
customers to compare notes about products. One thing’s for sure: Businesspeople
are all over the map in how they use social media.
This in mind, Insight invited Innovationedge President Cheryl Perkins to lead a
discussion with a group of regional thought leaders: Vince Gallucci, chief administrative
officer for Affinity Health System; Vicki Updike, president of Miles Kimball; Jason
McGlone, senior partner at Kerntke Otto McGlone Wealth Management; and Steve Tyink,
vice president of business innovation at Miron Construction.
A podcast and transcript of the discussion are available through a few of the many
social media tools deployed by Insight (see ONL INE , at right). Also in the digital
version of our magazine, click on the photos to see videos with nuggets of insight
from each panelist.
Want to share your insights? Visit our Insight blog at blog.
insightonbusiness.com.
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Q: How do you use
social media to leverage
your business profile?
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“Before clients call us they can go to Facebook, they can know
everything about us. They can say, ‘Hey Jason, I know how you work, tell me how
you can help me,’ so you can get right into it.”
– Jason McGlone, senior partner
at Kerntke Otto McGlone, Appleton
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InForum takeaways
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Embrace the shift.
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Social media is a fundamental shift in the way people communicate that has changed
the ways businesses are operating and marketing themselves. Instead of pushing new
products, ideas and services to target audiences, they’re discovering that you can
learn a lot from monitoring your brand online and crowd-sourcing ideas from target
audiences.
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Tune in to multi-channel ways to communicate.
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Though it has opened up companies to scrutiny, social media has also opened up
a network of audiences ready and willing to share information with you about your
services, products or next big idea. In the next few years, you’ll see more companies
embracing open innovation through social media channels, allowing people to collaborate
seamlessly and share interests in a multi-channel environment.
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Use social media as a tool for customer feedback.
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Many corporations are already using Twitter as customer service channels or a blog
as their main channel of communication to media and stakeholders. They are listening
to their customers and reacting based on feedback they receive online.
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