A tweet a day keeps the wrinkles away!

While the use of social media sites for business promotion has become very popular in the United States, in the Middle East there has been a more muted response from companies to online social networking. An research organization estimates that 400 brands are represented on Twitter in the region including companies, government departments and non-profit organizations. For the past two years Spot On has been working with clients to help them understand social media marketing programs.


Despite the fact that social media isn’t popular in the Middle East, Dr. Lillian Khan is a very active ‘social media user’. She is active on Twitter (http://twitter.com/DrLillian), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dr-Lillian-Khan-Dermatologist/205228057000) and Blogger (http://drlilliankhan.blogspot.com/).

Dr. Lillian uses her social media resources in part to answer questions about skin conditions. While she does recommend various products, the physician also states frequently that certain symptoms need to be investigated in a medical setting for a definitive diagnosis and treatment. Her blog promotes various packages and other promotions at the clinic. She is sharing her expertise with the community, which is important for her to unify her business goals within all social media. Social media is allowing Dr. Lillian to interface with the community and grow her business, while building a reputation. This is why she must be transparent in her online business relationships.

Dr. Lillian does reveal certain of her personal details in posts and tweets. When people feel that they know someone, they are more likely to trust that person. This can be an especially effective marketing tactic in the Middle East where relationships have always been important. There needs to be common sense though in deciding what personal details to make public. Dr. Lillian has crossed over into a potential danger zone by posting her mobile telephone number on Facebook. Making such information easily available could lead to disruption in Dr. Lillian’s life and there could be security concerns.

Will Dr. Lillian’s efforts to grow her clinical practice succeed using social media alone? The best marketing campaigns in the Middle East are hybrid programs. These marketing efforts use both traditional marketing — such as advertising and roadshows, combined with promotion of the business message through social media including social networks, blogs and YouTube.

When companies do dive into social media without understanding the requirements of such a move, issues can quickly arise. It is very time consuming to write blogs and respond to Twitter queries. In the past, businesses simply turned over their marketing campaigns to ad agencies and the message was shouted out. With social media, consumers have the ability to shout back and companies need to respond.

In my opinion every business should consider if it’s worth to invest in online social networking, set goals for those efforts and then faithfully follow their plan…


Do you think every business should use social media? Give your reaction on this blog!

See you next time!