Streaming Media Business

Nowadays, every organization wants to have a large consumer base, greater profit and a better image in the market. A very common way of conveying the company’s message to its customer has become the Social Media Optimization. Social Media Optimization is a set of methods for creating publicity through social media, online communities and community websites. Online website activity has now been increasing, with more information being given out to the customers in order to gain their confidence. The methods of Social Media Optimization include adding RSS feeds, social news buttons, blogging, and incorporating third-party community functionalities like images and videos. Social Media Optimization is related to search engine marketing, but differs in several ways, mainly the focus on driving traffic from sources other than search engines, though improved search ranking is also a benefit of successful Social Media Optimization. Social media optimization is in a number of ways connected as a technique to viral marketing where word of mouth is created not through friends or family but through the use of networking in social book marking, video and photo sharing websites. This online concept aims to bring together ideas and display information that could benefit the organization in terms of its popularity and overall increase in customers. In a similar way the engagement with blogs achieves the same by sharing content through the use of RSS in the blogosphere and special blog search engines. Social Media optimization is considered an integral part of an online reputation management (ORM) or Search Engine Reputation Management (SERM) strategy for organizations or individuals who care about their online presence. A lot of people have started to interact through blogs, especially discussing issues that concern them. This has thus created a social network against groups of people and helps in sharing data as well. social media optimization (SMO) is not only limited to marketing and brand building. Increasingly smart businesses are integrating social media participation as part of their knowledge management strategy (i.e. product/service development, recruiting, employee engagement and turnover, brand building, customer satisfaction and relations, business development and more). Firms often save up on their cost because they are conducting a number of tasks simultaneously through search engines and websites with the help of Social Media Optimization. There are a number of functions that it provides; therefore quite a few goals of the organization can be achieved through Social Media Optimization.

Building Better Cars and Better Customer Relations.

Hyundai has been getting a lot of attention these days as a company that cares about its customers and part of this success can be credited to social media marketing. By integrating a customer relationship management (CRM) strategy with social media along with their traditional marketing, Hyundai has branded itself as an altruistic company that really does care about its’ customers. In fact – Hyundai has jumped ahead of every other car manufacturer in the critical customer satisfaction index (CSI) category. Here are a few examples how Hyundai is applying their social media marketing strategy in key parts of their business and how it is paying off.

Promotion

Hyundai’s Assurance Program began in early 2009 when the economy was at its worst and unemployment was rising rapidly. The Hyundai Assurance Program promised that if you got laid off from your job, you could return your car and not even have to worry about honoring the rest of the note payable. The promotion was innovative but coming from a major car corporation was it believable? The attention the campaign received from the press and from many blogs and websites was skeptical.

Hyundai began promoting the idea on Facebook and Twitter. They asked everyone to buzz and tweet about it and people responded with enthusiasm. The idea of social networking for business exposure is not new but the strategy was extraordinary because it laid the groundwork for the campaign and gave it credibility. It was a brilliant way to market a promotion that really did work. Sharing this information on Facebook and Twitter turned out to be a big plus for the car company’s marketing campaign.

Hyundai sales are up 6.2 percent through November 2009. This marks the eleventh consecutive month of year-over-year gains in retail market share by Hyundai. The Hyundai Assurance Program is without doubt one of the reasons their sales have increased this year while other car manufacturers have floundered.

Corporate Responsibility

Zafar Brooks, Director of Government Relations and Diversity Outreach at Hyundai, has a refreshing perspective on the value of social media when combined with corporate outreach programs. The Hyundai “Hope on Wheels” program fights pediatric cancer by funding cancer research programs across the country. Brooks understands the importance of authenticity and relevance in social media outreach, particularly on behalf of corporate charitable programs.

He said: “Consumers are more sophisticated now — corporate social responsibility programs are no longer something that is ‘nice’ to do, but it’s expected of the company,” noted Brooks. “Simultaneously, consumers will smell-out what is not authentic — Hope on Wheels isn’t advertised, but is part of the news we share with our brand loyalists,” he said. “It is a part of our story because it is a part of who we are and what we are about. Social media should be authentic and organic.”

Mr. Brooks added, “Brand leaders must align themselves with a cause that is consistent with corporate values so they can illustrate their relevancy. Leadership has to establish the priorities around which we stand and make it part of our messaging point.”

Brooks concluded: “All social media should link together with a common objective to develop a program based on who we want to talk to about what we want to accomplish. Social media outreach must be part of a cohesive approach. Consumers will smell-out what is not authentic!”

Aftermarket

Hyundai Aftermarket recently announced the launch of a new social media campaign. The goal was to give Hyundai owners a new way of finding content on the internet about modifying their vehicles. The interactive social media campaign involves additional features being built into the Hyundai forum that owners can use effectively to get the word out about what they are doing to make their cars stand out from the rest. Twitter accounts and Facebook “Fan Pages” have been built so that owners can follow live updated news feeds about Hyundai Aftermarket as well.

“Finding important and relevant information is not easy when you are unfamiliar with how to perform certain modifications,” said a Hyundai spokesperson. “Having a forum and website where answers to important questions are laid out for you, would help with modifying your Hyundai to its highest potential.”

While the site has been branded as the “web’s most premier Hyundai forum” and currently is the oldest Hyundai forum on the internet, it has been designed for both the amateur and professional car enthusiast in mind. The site is built on the principle of being very easy going and helpful to anyone who may or may not know a lot about Hyundai’s. Users register for free and can partake in discussions about Hyundai Accents, Tiburons, Elantra’s, Sonata’s, Santa Fe’s and the all new Hyundai Genesis.

In addition to providing great technical content, hyundaiaftermarket provides great off topic discussions ranging in everything from technology to music & movies to even food and health/nutrition.

Today, when you surf the internet you can always come across discussions on topics like that of a social media strategy. Well, this thing is nothing new. This is a remarkable development due to the booming of various social media networks in the worldwide web. Everyone in the world today has become intensely enthusiastic about or preoccupied with connecting and collecting to friends all over the world through personal accounts in Facebook, which I think is getting more popular than its counterparts like Friendster and Multiply. And most of the brilliant minds in the marketing industry think that there is a good marketing potential here as people from all walks of life are now into this hype.

As an agent of a marketing firm or maybe someone who is getting into personal marketing business, why not consider this as an alternative way to market your ware? Using social media as your avenue to the world of business can open up so many chances to grow and establish your name or the brand that you are now representing. You may have tried a lot of ways already and have spent thousands on your marketing campaigns. But you have seen only a very minimal effect out of a very stressful and costly marketing applications. Now it is time to add to your usual marketing techniques something that you can enjoy and at the same time make business with a broader audience. Why not get for your brand a free account on Facebook and begin to explore the many chances of meeting people and groups who can be your prospect clients?

Every now and then, you will hear people mention about their Facebook account. From time to time, you can receive people’s invitations to connect to them or join their group or participate in a game or activity on one of those social network locations on the internet. Obviously with social networks, you will no longer have a hard time looking for people or target customers because they just come to you even without your invitation. Remember, it is a network. It is like a virtual web that connects you to others and others to you. So with just a few people on your list, you can have as many connections as you can by just sending out and receiving invitations. In business, that could mean a greater chance to make many people know what your company is up to. Even with or without your paid advertisements, you can still have ways to come out and be noticed.

One thing that can be so true why social media marketing clicks is that people by nature simply has the longing to connect or to belong. And social media networks have somehow given the answer to what people need. So with the social networks that abound on the internet, one can finally find a refuge even just temporarily. This is the reason why social media networks get bigger every day. And where people go, there can always be doors and windows for business opportunities. This must be your reason to try social media strategy for your business to work.