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New media

 

A growing strategy

Some major companies that have been involved in new media for years are now delving more deeply into the field. Dell Computer, for instance, recently announced a major expansion of its presence on Twitter.

In the past 18 months, Dell has generated more than $1 million in sales by tweeting sales alerts to people who follow the company on Twitter. Users receive messages when discounted products go up on the Dell Outlet Store website; many purchase the products as well as send the tweet to other people in their network.

“It shows that people want to sign up for feeds,” Bob Pearson, manager of communities and conversation for Dell, told InternetNews.com

Earlier this year, Dell took it a step further by offering deals exclusively to its Twitter followers and expanded from the Dell Outlet site to Dell Home and Dell Small Business sites on Twitter. These moves brought the number of Dell’s Twitter followers from 10,000 in March 2009 to nearly 14,000 in early November.

Pratt & Whitney is another large company that is embracing social media. “You need to be where your audience is,” says Jay DeFrank, vice president of communications. “That’s what distinguishes the social media side from one-dimensional communication such as a website or brochure; it’s focused on relationships and interaction.”

Pratt & Whitney has established a presence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Delicious, a site that lets users bookmark, save, manage, and share web pages. Pratt’s main Facebook page has more than 500 friends, and the company is setting up separate Facebook pages and using other social media to engage communities in debates on public policy issues affecting the company.

“We use Twitter to notify people whenever anything significant happens,” says DeFrank. “Most of the interaction takes place on Facebook, which gives us a forum for engagement.” Social media provides a way to keep all the different stakeholders “engaged and updated,” he says.

It also gives Pratt a way to engage its 40,000 employees. “Our employees have a broad presence throughout the Internet,” says DeFrank, “and when you educate, empower, and engage your employees, they get involved on your behalf.”

While some corporations have cited security concerns as a reason to avoid social media, DeFrank says Pratt has not had any incidents of proprietary information being posted online or an employee writing something inappropriate or embarrassing.

Pratt’s general Facebook page is a way to allow people to ask questions and become more engaged with the company. “We have a very broad base of constituents—customers, potential customers, suppliers, alumni, policymakers,” DeFrank says. “Facebook gives us a way to stay in touch. It’s a form of community relations.”

Reaching out

A more retail-oriented Connecticut business that has embraced new media in a big way is the Bigelow Tea Co. in Fairfield, which has a blog and a presence on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube.

Bigelow Tea began developing a social media presence three years ago, and President Cindi Bigelow credits the effort with helping the company move up from second place to the No. 1 spot in U.S. sales volume for specialty tea.

“For us it’s been a real home run,” Bigelow says. “It’s important that you believe in what you do and that you really understand that social media is not just a form of advertising. It’s a way to really form a relationship with the consumer so they understand who you are a lot better. Customers want to have a deeper connection.”

While the company uses social media to tout special offers, events, and company news, Bigelow says social media goes far beyond that level. After radio personality Don Imus landed in hot water over racially charged comments about the Rutgers women’s basketball team, thousands of consumers contacted Bigelow through email and social media sites. Bigelow was a major Imus advertiser.

“We had advertised on his show for many years,” Bigelow says. “Our blog was my opportunity to convey my thoughts on the matter.”

Bigelow also records and posts“tea-talk” videos on YouTube featuring interviews with baseball managers Joe Torre and Terry Francona, former New York Giants star Phil Simms, students at Boston College, and people on the streets of New York City.

“We also share stories about our employees,” she says. “It’s not just a box of tea; there’s a family history and a family commitment to quality. It helps people feel like they are part of something bigger than buying tea.”

Embrace the future

Joe Menhart, sales manager at The Willington Companies, a Stafford Springs printing firm that also makes nameplates, labels, and other products, has established a Willington blog and placed the company on Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace.

“We’ve seen our company talked about on those sites, and we’ve gotten sales leads through them, but we’re taking it very slowly and cautiously,” he says. “I believe we need to embrace the new forms of technology if we’re going to be successful in the long run.”

Menhart says the younger generation is going to transform the way companies conduct business, and he does not believe that social media is just a fad. “There are practical business uses that will be uncovered, and the only way to take advantage of the situation is to become familiar with these tools,” he says. “We are customer focused, and these technologies put the customer in charge of deciding how we’re going to do business.

“My message to business owners is, ‘Don’t wait, don’t be afraid. Try it, embrace the future. You have to keep up.’”

Steve Higgins is a freelance writer in Wallingford.

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