When there’s 2.31 billion people worldwide using social media, it’s no wonder platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest have become key pillars of companies’ business strategies. Major brands have dedicated teams to running their social media, as they decide on how best to engage with customers and bolster sales.
For hotel booking website Mr & Mrs Smith, each of the social media accounts has a different purpose. “Instagram is aimed at inspiring followers – though not always with far-flung destinations,” says Louis Sheridan, social media editor at Mr & Mrs Smith. “I try to cover lesser-known destinations or highlight popular areas in a new light – for example, we’ll cover a day trip in the New Forest alongside something more typical, like a Santorini sunset. On Twitter we deal with quick-fire customer queries and maintain business relationships, and Facebook is where we keep followers informed by sharing content from our blog.”
Clothing brand Hush hired a dedicated social media employee more than a year ago in order to engage with customers through the channels and raise brand awareness. “At Hush, we have only started treating social media seriously in the past year or so, but we’re already measuring the uplift in sales from social channels in the thousands of percent,” says Rupert Youngman, director at Hush, which posts everything from promotions and competitions to videos of models wearing its clothes via its social media channels.
Still, while the rise of social media has been a game changer for many businesses, it’s not without its challenges. For Mr & Mrs Smith, that includes trying to differentiate themselves visually from competitors. “A number of our hotels are represented on social media, either by our competitors or through their own channels,” says Sheridan. “This can mean similar competing imagery all vying for attention from an often identical audience. We try to tackle this issue by creating unique content in-house at each of our hotels and using these images and videos to tell a different story and offer a deeper insight into what sets us apart.”
Companies don’t just use social media to promote products or answer customer queries; many also use the tools to attract staff. Although a brand’s personality may be best conveyed on platforms such as Twitter and Facebook – it’s on LinkedIn that many focus their energies.
“It’s the most useful and effective tool and it’s where we put our money and time into recruiting new people,” says Charlotte Matthews, European employer brand manager at brewing giant AB InBev. “We use LinkedIn for two things: to actively recruit new talent and to promote the exciting work we do. Recently we launched a campaign on LinkedIn called Make It Yours, where we profiled staff working at AB InBev and featured the best bits of their job to encourage others to join us.”
Matthews also rates it for the level of data it supplies to those on a recruiting drive. “If 10 people have been looking at a job posting, I know how many have since gone on to apply for the role and whether one of them is successful in going on to secure it.”
While social media is helping brands draw the spotlight and engage more with customers, it comes at a time when cybercrime is on the rise, with UK businesses reporting losses of more than £1bn in 2015-16, according to research from Get Safe Online and Action Fraud. “Every online business worries about cybercrime – and if they don’t, they should,” says Youngman.
“We spend a lot of time and money ensuring our website meets all industry protocols and is as safe as we can make it,” he adds. “I’d be a fool to say that something couldn’t happen to us, but we owe it to our customers to take the issue seriously and we do. Even though the data we hold is not particularly sensitive, it’s still a big responsibility.”
