Published on December 29th, 2017 | by Sunit Nandi

Why Are Businesses So Focused On Being Social Butterflies?

We live in the age of information. The answer to almost anything can be found with the help of a plastic rectangle and strong internet connection. However, sometimes it feels as if we live in the age of too much information. You know what we’re talking about: Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat. The list goes on and on, but at the end of the day, most of us go to sleep only after scrolling through an endless feed of travel photos, fly-by-night movie reviews, weekend recaps, weddings and complaints. In November 2017 alone, social apps were downloaded more than 200 million times. That’s a pretty impressive statistic considering on average we only have four people we would turn to for help out of the hundreds we’ve accrued over the years on the site. People just love to be connected. But it goes beyond that: some people and brands are using social media to their advantage in new ways.

But instead of showing us other people’s lives that we wouldn’t even ask for a cup of sugar, businesses are showing us our lives, but only better. “Come on in to our store and you’ll save 50% on your entire purchase.” “Like our Facebook page for a chance to win a Nintendo Switch.” “Comment below with your favorite dish on our menu.” Sound familiar? It should, because it’s how businesses are becoming our friends. Looking at this further, we’ll be going over five case studies: five businesses in particular that are profiting from being social butterflies.

Uber

If you’ve ever traveled to another country, had a night out on the town or just wanted to let someone else take the wheel in your life, chances are you’ve known about Uber for at least a couple of years. The company that prides itself on providing a superior service to the familiar yellow cabs of the world not only knows how to best get you from A to B for cheap, but also how to chat it up online. With more than 16 million followers on Facebook and 861,000 Twitter followers, there are a lot of eyes on this company. And that’s most likely because of all the deals the company offers up. Not only that, but Uber interacts with their customers professionally but in a fun, light-hearted way. Followers are updated on events Uber is running and the brand even takes the time to have internet conversations with their clients for a personal touch. They also manage to get tweeted at by Conan and other celebrities, cementing them in the pop culture world and making them relevant to just about everyone. If you look at there feed, it’s nothing but positive energy and deals – not a bad combo for a business that’s always on the go.

Naked Pizza

While it might have a name that raises the eyebrows of the Better Business Bureau, Naked Pizza’s social media presence is clean as a whistle as the company sees 20 percent of its sales in the form of tweets. Right on the main page of its website, Naked Pizza shows off recent tweets and Facebook updates, but chances are most of their customers already have them as a way to order the pies. It’s an interesting way to get customers engaged while at the same time giving them space. Eventually, customers are going to want pizza, and when they do they can be treated to a nice, easy experience.

Betway Casino

With almost 100,000 followers on Twitter, online casino Betway is able to get the word about deals out all the more readily. Especially when you consider where many of these consumers are playing out their hands: on the phone. So while the average online gambler might be on their phone for two hours each play session, they might see five or ten Betway tweets that give them bonuses for the games they’re playing, ultimately extending their session and money spent. Betway Casino’s live casino games take social to a new level, bringing players closer to the action as the option to play with a live dealer is made available, enhancing the experience even further. It’s an all encompassing presence that will have their customers looking at Betway’s brand for a majority of their day.

Blendtec

Here’s a company that’s clearly been taking our advice on how to go viral. Well, maybe not. At first glance, the BlendTec website seems simple enough. It’s a typical appliance website with demos of their product. But they had an ingenious idea: posting YouTube videos that see ther heavy duty blender ripping apart very random, tough objects. So the company decided to cash in on the sensation further. Since then they’ve gained nearly 180,000 followers on Facebook. But the decision to put up videos displaying their products’ strength not only shows off the product, but also shows that they understand what the internet wants and they’re not afraid to give it to them. This goes hand-in-hand with the previous example in that it increases the company’s visibility using a medium that gets a huge amount of attention. However, the company might have to get even more creative with their videos, as their projected subscriber count is in decline, and estimate to move from 887,000 to 730,000 in the matter of the next five years.

Cisco Systems

While it’s not entirely a surprise that Cisco would be competent at social marketing considering they’re the ones that allow many of us access to the internet, it’s interesting to think that this technology conglomerate as being trendy. Cisco has found a way to make friends on the world wide web. The company that is known for fixing systems issues, a dry subject to be sure, has made the process more fun and efficient with the help of Twitter and Facebook. In 2012, the company launched a social media listening center where it monitored 5,000 social mentions of the company across 70 company-related Facebook pages and more than 100 Twitter accounts. Cisco saw a 281% return on its investment for this move as they managed to answer customers questions while training to use these social media tools was cheaper. They’re using social media to cut costs and build relationships through this framework.

So with social media being such a huge presence these days, you can be sure more companies will be hopping on this trend of using social sites to reel their customers in and become friends rather than business acquaintances. This won’t just affect the businesses but the customers, social media sites themselves and, lastly, digital marketers looking to start a successful agency.

Tags: businesses, butterflies, focused, marketing, social

About the Author

Sunit Nandi I'm the leader of Techno FAQ. Also an engineering college student with immense interest in science and technology. Other interests include literature, coin collecting, gardening and photography. Always wish to live life like there's no tomorrow.