15:15 09/07/2009 09:21 Page 15
Industry News
Join the
conversation
Jane Rowe, Marketing & Merchandising Director, Spicers UK
TWITTER HAS RECENTLY
A
s we now know, word-of-mouth is no longer Blogs are also becoming increasingly popular in the
restricted to old-fashioned one-to-one ‘conversations’ channel, offering readers a unique insight into a person
OVERTAKEN FACEBOOK AS
- new conversations take place on-line too. A person or company’s opinion. For example, Phil Jones, Sales &
posts a comment on their blog or favourite social network Marketing Director at Brother blogs at
THE FASTEST GROWING
such as Facebook or micro-blogging platform Twitter, thecorporatebubble.blogspot.com and I blog at
and within minutes the message could have spread to movingstationery.wordpress.com. Both of these blogs
ONLINE COMMUNITY, WITH
thousands, if not millions of people with similar interests. offer personal view-points, not necessarily those of the
business. Others focus specifically on the views of a
A 1382 PERCENT GROWTH It is important that businesses do not ignore these business. However, when deciding to do a corporate
RATE LAST YEAR.
conversations, but engage and use them to their benefit. blog it is important to understand who will be blogging;
However, this has to be approached sensitively; it’s not the CEO or MD for example, and the purpose of the
IMPORTANTLY PEOPLE
just about promoting your business, it’s about engaging blog. In addition there is an investment in time for those
in conversation and offering relevant contributions to who commit to go down this route. This needs to be
MOSTLY TWEET FROM
support the community. Social networking sites provide a clearly thought through as a blog swiftly loses credibility
great platform for businesses to monitor who is talking if it is clear it is being ghost-written.
WORK, WITH 62 PERCENT
about their company or industry, and start a conversation
with those people. They have three key purposes: the Twitter offers the opportunity to monitor what is being
OF PEOPLE ACCESSING THE promotion of your business, identification of possible said about your business. It also gives a platform to
SITE SOLELY FROM WORK
business opportunities and addressing any negative respond, share news and business or market updates,
commentary before it gets out of hand. answer queries, engage with customers to improve
AND ON THE MOVE,
service and enter into a true one-to-many conversation.
There are a number of different platforms to review. All these features are of value to suppliers, wholesalers
RATHER THAN AT HOME.
Online business networks such as LinkedIn, individual or and resellers. Just go to www.search.twitter.com and
corporate blogs, micro-blogging platforms like Twitter type in a well known product or company name in
WHIST THIS MAY NOT
and online forums are tools already being adopted in the inverted commas to see who is talking about it.
office products market. They each have a different
IMMEDIATELY STRIKE YOU purpose, and businesses should evaluate each to see if Lastly, specialist forums are starting to gain real traction,
AS BEING RELEVANT, THE
they could be beneficial to their knowledge development as they are a great place to gauge what subjects are
and communications strategy. ‘top of mind’ in the reseller community and interact
ACCELERATED PACE AT
with others on them.
LinkedIn offers a fairly controlled environment; users must
WHICH COMMUNICATIONS
register and be approved as a member of the various So, whist blogs and Twitter might not initially seem like
groups, which means the posts within these groups are business tools, it is important not to dismiss them.
IS CHANGING HAS A
traceable and there is less likelihood of any inappropriate People are predominantly accessing these
content being posted. The tool helps businesses to find communication tools at work, and conversations about
DIRECT IMPACT ON YOUR appropriate people for specific job roles, and help the industry and your business are happening whether
BUSINESS.
individuals build and maintain a network of like-minded you’re involved or not. But by joining the conversation,
people and to communicate in the subject-specific it may just benefit your business. The future of
forums where contacts can be made and information communication is increasingly online.
shared which is of value to you and your business.
www.stationeryandofficeupdate.com SOU JUNE 2009 15
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