Social media 'is a pot of gold' for firms

12:04 6th April 2009

The vast number of people signed up to social media and networking sites has led one expert to describe this kind of resource as a "virtual pot of gold" for businesses.

Vishnu Mahmud of the Jakarta Post explained that sites such as Facebook hold a vast database with the details of millions of prospective clients.

He noted that real demographic information is held on the sites, all of which is already broken down into countries or districts.

In addition, it also holds information on their individual interests and needs, which could make social media an ideal place to target digital marketing campaigns.

Mr Mahmud noted that many companies are setting up pages on Facebook where loyal customers can share their thoughts and insights on brands.

"For the brands, this is an ideal platform to selectively offer new products or inventory clearing sales, as well as to gather some valuable market research feedback from their customers," he commented.

The expert noted that consumer behaviour is changing and that the difficulties in the economy could make an efficient and effective online marketing campaign all the more important.

This comes after Dave Saunders, president and chief information officer at advertising firm Madison and Main, told the Richmond Times Dispatch that businesses should utilise social media because that is where the customers are.