Sorry, you children of the sixties…the answer to this question is NOT “absolutely nothing,” despite what you might be singing to yourselves now.

Listen to any marketing, PR, HR or customer service consultant these days, and they will tell you that social media is the wave of the future. You better get on board, because your competitors (and, more importantly, your customers) are! They’ll trot out case studies of companies that “get” social media - Whole Foods, Ford, Comcast - and point to them as self-evident examples of the absolute importance of social media in the strategy of any organization.

But if you really want to see a social media “evangelist” sweat, just ask him/her, “Why?”

Why does social media matter?

What can it do for my organization?

How will it help me make money?

First of all, let’s frame expectations. Social media is not the be-all, end-all miracle cure that some people make it out to be. Traditional tools for marketing, customer service and HR are vital and social media is not a replacement for them.

Here’s what social media does EXTREMELY well, when applied correctly: it helps companies build brand awareness and strengthen brand loyalty.

Tools like corporate blogs, Facebook and Twitter enable companies to connect with their customers - and when companies offer compelling content (exclusive discounts/offers, or even news and product announcements), their customers broadcast that content to the members of their network. Some marketers call that “viral marketing,” and that’s basically what it is - content getting passed from person to person until millions of people have watched the goofy video of the guy blending his iPhone.

These tools also help organizations foster loyalty among their customers by helping them feel “connected.” People who are “fans” of an organization on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter, feel invested in that organization and have essentially opted-in to receiving personal, relevant communications (NOT just marketing messages).

And, when they follow or become fans of an organization, they know there’s a real person behind those communications they receive. This is especially helpful if a company (*cough Comcast cough*) has a negative customer service history. In an article in the New York Times, a Comcast customer said,

“It’s one thing to spit vitriol about a company when they can’t hear you…I immediately backed down and softened my tone when I knew I was talking to a real person.”

So…if you want a relatively low-cost way to build awareness of your brand, while establishing direct lines of communication with your customers and improving their perception of your organization (and by extension strengthening their brand loyalty)…THATis what social media is good for.

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