[ad#468x60]If you are not a Mac user chances are you are using a Dell computer. May be not, but its a well known fact that dell is one of the most widely used brands of computers, at least in the US. Today I wanted to feature a company that has tapped into the social web and my first choice of course was Dell. Dell has to be one of the few companies that has tapped into the social media marketing. It doesn’t just touch the social web but they breath marketing into it. So lets see how Dell is using the social web and Web 2.0 to market their product and create an evern stronger presence than what it already has.
- Direct2Dell, a blog about Dell products, services and customers is a perfect example of social media marketing. Dell uses this blog to keep their customers informed and also receive feedbacks from their customers. This particular blog generates about 3.5 million pageviews per month. Besides this, Dell also hosts hundreds of team/departmental blogs in many different languages.
- Dell uses Twitter like no one else. Dell has multiple accounts on Twitter which it uses to tap into the active Twitter market. Dell uses Twitter to announce offers and news on their Dell and Alienware products. Here is a list of Dell Twitter Accounts.
- DellIdeaStorm is another platform where Dell keeps in touch with its user base directly. This site encourages customers and others to share their ideas. Each idea is voted up and down by the community. This allows Dell to stay ahead of competition by directly staying in touch with their community and potential customers. It also allows users and others to share their point of view and ideas bringing them closer to Dell. A win win situation for both parties.
- SecondLife is one of the most popular game where users create their own avatars and live a life the way they want through their avatars. Many businesses have used this as a platform to promote their businesses and products. Dell has created their own island within SecondLife known as the “Dell Island.” Dell already has a strong presence in the real world and with their marketing in the virtual world they tap into another marktet.
As you can see Social Web is definitely something that needs to be touched in terms of marketing. Dell is a prime example that shows social media marketing is of as much importance as the traditional marketing. Hope dells active participation in social media gives you some idea on how social media can leverage your marketing efforts.[ad#336x280]
{ 3 comments }
Hi Jason,
Thanks very much for the call out for Dell. We really appreciate your pointing to some of our initiatives in social media and enjoyed your take on our actions as being more than just “touch[ing] the social web but they breath marketing into it.”
You know, our involvement in this emerging field is premised on what we call the connected era. All trends point in the direction of increasingly connected communities as more and more people come online and the online population doubles over the next several years. You can read more about our perspective on the importance of technology, the web and people connecting here: http://tinyurl.com/52zwql
We also believe that this is about more than marketing (depending on how you define that anyway). Listening and connecting directly with our customers with a view to constantly improving our business based on customer feedback is fundamental to who we are. The emergence of the “social web” makes that a whole lot easier to do and further ensure our customers are walking the halls of Dell everyday.
Ideastorm and our blogs have proven to be wonderful ways to connect and hear from our customers. In addition to the initiatives you mentioned, thought I would also point out some of the other ways we are listening and connecting with people who are interested in, or customers of, Dell. We introduced “ratings and reviews” to dell.com; StudioDell for learning and sharing using videos; we have the only investor relations blog http://www.dell.com/dellshares; we are on Facebook; and, beyond Dell specific web sites, we also reach out to listen, learn and engage with people interested in our company on their sites around the web. I think we have more to come too.
By the way, as participants in any community, we also share our experience with others, belieiving that it is important to contribute back. You might be interested in our recent “Social Media for Small Business Tips” over at Facebook. You can find that here: http://www.facebook.com/dellsocialmedia.
Thanks again for the callout, Jason. We look forward to any feedback or conversations that result from this here or elsewhere
@RichardatDELL : Thank you for stopping by. We appreciate Dell’s effort to make social web a part of their marketing strategy as it not only helps consumers get in direct touch with Dell, but also allows us to share our views and opinion as users of the product. Your take on marketing is commendable.
Once again, thanks for stopping by and taking the time comment.
Dell is one of the few companies utilizing all the information available on the social web. To many companies pass over the social web like it doesn’t matter. It will be interesting to see what companies succeed and fail in the coming years and their relations to the social web.
Look for more and more companies to get involved.
Jared O’Tooles last blog post..The Irrelevant Business Plan
{ 1 trackback }