Skip to main content

Social Media for Entrepreneurs: Tips from Zappos, Match.com, and Method Founders

This Wall Street Journal video features an interview with Gary Kremen, founder of Match.com, Eric Ryan, co-founder of Method, and Nick Swinmum, founder of Zappos.com, where they shared some advice on using social media for small business (mainly on Facebook or Twitter). I agree on some of their suggestions but not the other.

Tips I Feel Useful
  • In-house social media staff is very important. Whoever manages a company’s social media activities must know the company, including the organizational culture, services and products offered, and the operational procedures. Otherwise, a company can repeat Chrysler’s mistake on Twitter.
  • Be consistent in feeding new content.
  • Carry on an on-going conversation on social media. Social media is more than just sales and marketing. Content creators also need to consider “WIIFM” (what’s in it for me?) and “IDNK” (I don’t know that) for the audience when posting updates and news.
  • Companies must have clear objectives when implementing social media strategies. Otherwise, social media can be very counterproductive for business.

Tips I Disagree
  • Will social media become less important if a company does not need to interact with consumers directly? I don’t think so. I believe that social media, if used appropriately, can be very effective in B2B, B2C, and C2C communications. Even if a company’ business model does not rely on B2C communications as much as the others do, they should still use social media, including Facebook Page and Twitter, to promote B2B and C2C communications. Additionally, recent research indicates that blogging can have a positive impact on a company’s performance in the stock market because companies often share positive information on their blogs.  
  • Is social media optional for senior executive members? It may work for Nick Swinmurn at Zappos.com, but I don’t think it will work for others. My question is: How can an executive make viable decisions on a company’s social media strategy if s/he does not even use the tools? Let’s use e-mail marketing as an example, if one does not even use e-mails, s/he may not know how to send or receive e-mails anyway. How can this person make good decisions on e-mail marketing?

Do you see my points? What are your thoughts on the advice provided by these three entrepreneurs?

 

Comments

  1. This topic is very appealing since social media is becoming so important in everyone’s daily lives now. Many companies have twitter and Facebook pages to communicate to their fans and customers and I think it is extremely effective when done properly. I agree with the points you feel are useful because it is important to keep the social media professional and consistent since it is a public representation of a company/business. I also agree with the last two bullets you mentioned. I think the only way social media can become less important to a company is if it is not managed and/or published correctly; even if a company doesn’t need to communicate to customers social media helps promote their brand name to other business and to the general public. I think it is interesting to see how many companies have begun using Facebook and twitter because these websites, to many college kids, are strictly for socializing with friends and peers; it’s cool to see how people are beginning to use these sites to their individual company’s advantage.
    Jamie Greer

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Luxury vs. Millennials and Their Technology: The Ritz-Carlton (By Julia Shorr)

Embodying the finest luxury experience, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC has been established since 1983. In 1998, Marriott International purchased the brand offering it more opportunity for growth while being independently owned and operated. They are known for their enhanced service level as the motto states, “Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen”. The luxury brand now carries 97 hotels and resorts internationally and is attempting to keep the aspects of luxury while keeping up with the trends of the technologically improving generations. The Varying Demographics of the Target Market The Ritz-Carlton’s typical target market includes: business executives, corporate, leisure travelers, typically middle-aged persons and elders, and families from the upper and upper-middle class section of society .   This infers a large range of types of travelers in which all are similar in that they are not opposed to spending extra for the luxurious ambiance. However, with

Is It OK for Hotel Staff to Wear Piercings and Tattoos?

Time has changed. I see more and more college students wearing piercings and tattoos nowadays, but is it OK for hotel staff to wear piercings and tattoos? The answer is “no, no, no.” According a report at USAToday.com, customers across the board do not want to see any hotel workers with pierced eyebrow, pierced tongue, tattooed arm, or nose ring. Some may argue that tattooed and pierced workers may seem more acceptable in edgy boutique hotels as compared to the big franchised hotels, but the survey results did not find any differences among a variety of lodging products. Many respondents believe people who wear visible tattoos and piercings are taking a high risk of their professional lives. If you stay in a hotel, do you mind being served by tattooed and/or pierced staff? What if you are the one who makes the hiring decision? References: USAToday.com: http://tinyurl.com/linchikwok08042010 Picture was downloaded from http://tinyurl.com/linchikwok08042010P

How Covid-19 will change the HR department? (by Vivian Tan)

With the current pandemic happening, many businesses are having a hard time. It is hard for them to maintain to pay all their employees, and many things have changed on how companies are running during Covid-19. Because of this virus, employees work from home and might lack the motivation to finish their tasks. Many businesses shut their doors infinitely and file for bankruptcy because it is hard to pay their employees, and there are not many businesses coming in. In the hospitality industry, the HR department must create policies and answer questions from the outbreak. It is also essential that they communicate with workers for any updates and make sure that it does not affect their daily operations.     When it comes to covid-19 concerns, the HR department should communicate with the employees for any updates on the virus, such as informing employees about policies, personal hygiene, posting signs around the workplace about symptoms of the virus, and wear masks. Also, asking employee