Businesses grapple with social networking

02.11.2011
It's clear that companies are increasingly using social networking to connect with customers--Facebook said brands on its site get 100 million "likes" per day--but it's also clear that they are having varying degrees of success.

In fact, their definitions of success vary, according to speakers on a panel during the Seattle Interactive Conference on Wednesday.

"We haven't seen a lot of 'R' in the ROI," said David Camp, head of marketing for AmazonWireless, referring to the return on investment his company is getting from social media. AmazonWireless is Amazon's site for selling cellphones and service.

But Kim Johnston, vice president of marketing at Parallels, said she sees good return, although not necessarily of the kind Camp was talking about. "'R' could be insight, not just money," she said. Parallels learns a lot from customers it interacts with using Facebook and Twitter, she said.

Companies are using social networking to tap into a feedback loop from customers, but doing so can be a tricky proposition, the experts said.

T-Mobile's product managers listen closely to what people are saying on social networking sites to inform product development, said Alex Samano, marketing director and general manager for Bobsled at T-Mobile. But he warned that not everyone who writes comments on social networking sites is representative of many customers. "You have to be cautious of what you're hearing," he said.