A fast way for branding
your company and gathering information about potential customers is through
social media. Learning and grasping all the details of this new market place is
not as easy as it is presented. It requires a commitment of time. We all
understand the value of social media to reach and inform potential customers
about your business. We also know that it is a fabulous tool to listen and talk
to your customers as well as creating messages that engage the customer. The
key is understanding the basics before hiring someone or out sourcing your
service.
Building your website and
effectively connecting through the Internet should be a good part of your
marketing plan. Creating the proper message, identifying your meta tags, and blogging
on matters of interest, to name a few, improve your SEO and need constant
maintenance. Most important monitoring your social media chatter should be a
primary concern. It will improve your message to customers and prevent any
potential disasters with a dissatisfied customer. Let’s face it does happen and
how we handle their concern is paramount. I have learned the “rule of 300” the
hard way, which in today’s terms could be the “rule of 3 million.” You may not
keep all your customers happy but preventing them from telling 300 friends what
an awful experience they had with you is pretty important. It is the way of
human nature that we are more likely to convey a bad experience than we are a
good one and they will never forget it. A good example is YELP. If I am
thinking of trying a new restaurant often I will Google them and up pops YELP
reviews. If I read a bad review it makes me wonder about going there, not that I
take every review as an expert opinion, but there are people who are just plain
mean. Although, a bad review makes me think twice about going there. So I wonder why would that
restaurant keep that review up for people to see unless they are NOT MONITORING
their social media.
Like any new product/tool
understanding the mechanics of manipulating the system to your advantage is not
necessary but highly recommended. Getting advice from an expert can be a costly
lesson to learn without understanding the overall strategy. You need to know
enough to set effective policies. Social media is no different from the town crier,
the farmers market, the public square postings, print media and your direct
mailings with the exception that it reaches globally and can destroy your
reputation as fast as you can build it. Social Media is a modern way to create
word of mouth— a good way to market your company.
