SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING: THE LATEST WAY FOR BRANDS TO ENGAGE WITH CUSTOMERS AND TAP INTO THEIR PASSIO

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) July 15, 2008 -- KUALA LUMPUR (July 15, 2008) – FusionBrand, Asia’s leading data-driven brand consultancy, has enhanced its growing social media marketing (SMM) practice. Now, companies interested in knowing what customers really think about their brands can join, influence and learn from conversations customers are having in social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin, or any of the other 250 online communities.

Josh Bernoff, an analyst from Forrester Research, stated that, “We’re in a world where one person, by their actions, can make a company look bad, and it can get echoed and amplified over and over again. The power has shifted, [so] that big companies now have to be worried about one individual with a microphone called a blog.”

One study has estimated that up to 70% of online conversations in social networks are about brands. “One consequence is that companies want to know what consumers are saying about their brands online,” says Deborah Chan, brand strategies manager at FusionBrand. “More importantly, they want to join the conversation because consumers trust what other community members say online.”

By enabling consumers to share relationships and information, social networking represents the fastest growing area of digital branding. More than 530 million users are members of social networks worldwide, and Asia is widely recognized to be a leader in social networking. In the Philippines, for example, 82% of Internet users belong to a social network. Businesses are also using custom or private social networks to facilitate internal or value chain collaboration.

How can companies use social networking to strengthen their brands? Chan offers some suggestions:
• Facilitate customer input: Brands can benefit from customer ideas and suggestions for improvements. Microsoft, for example, depends on social networks to point out bugs and improve its software.
• Generate research: What are consumers saying about your brand? Competitive brands? Social networks offer an inexpensive way to find out.

• Engage customers: Through social networks, you can deliver games, videos and other interactive tools that can engage prospects and customers while delivering your brand message.
• Spread the word: Every member of a social network represents a potential brand ambassador.
• Facilitate segmentation: Companies struggle to segment customers based on their behavior and interests. In social networks, consumers segment themselves, making them easier to target.
• Enable measurement: With social networking applications, engagement and other metrics can easily be generated.

For more information on how to integrate social media marketing into your branding activities, contact FusionBrand at info@fusionbrand.com/+6(03) 7954 2075 /www.fusionbrand.com.

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