When trying to create a social media side of your business it’s easy to forget one thing, people want to see a human side to your company, not just automated posts and links to interesting sites. Yes, it’s obvious that in your busy business day you don’t have the time to sit there on the Facebook Page or Twitter account typing away and engaging with people, but the fact is if you or a member of your staff can’t make that time you won’t fully engage with your readers.
The key really is in the very name of Social Media. The internet has revolutionised the way you can contact your customers and clients and provide them with information, and provide them with a customer service. You may have a website with your “Contact Us” page where people can email you, but providing a human side of your business through social media is a powerful way to engage with the most important person to your company, the human being.
Be Social on Social Media
Now, before rushing off to get onto Facebook and talk to your clients and customers you have to stop and plan out exactly what your engagement will be. You can’t rush onto it and say just anything without a second thought, this can be a disaster as many companies have found. It seems to be every few days where some company have “retweeted” or “posted” some unthinking tweet on Twitter which then goes viral and is a total PR disaster. What you need to have is a professional but human face run by you or an employee who knows exactly what they are typing and knows exactly what the response to people should be.
Humans want a human response, this is the whole point of the internet. I’ve talked about using social media as a customer support tool in the past, but marketing is different. When marketing with customers and clients it’s all about customer relations and giving the right impression. When things go wrong it’s also about knowing the correct response, to save yourself a disaster. The main key is to realise that the internet is a way to broadcast to people all over the world, to millions of potential clients or people who suddenly have a negative view of your company. This is why it’s important to get it right.
So how do you get it right? The answer is to be professional and friendly. You know what you are wanting to market and you know what lines are coming up that you want to show the public. If you have a product that is going to be popular be aware that the press are likely watching too, and they have their own view on your company good or bad, so the key is to impress. When your customers engage you in conversation be ready to get into the discussion and don’t ignore them, but also don’t get caught up in a so called “trolling” session where some mischievous user just wants to get a reaction from you, it’s part of your job to be able to handle situations like that.
When using Social Media and the internet in general to market your company it’s all about public relations. Everything posted on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and all the other social media sites is an advertisement that creates a public image to the people who read it. Don’t have time to handle all of this? Then it maybe an option to either have an employee who can handle it, or outsource to a company who can do it for you. The internet is a very important and powerful tool for businesses today but it’s also one that can cause a lot of problems if not handled correctly. Know what you are doing and it can be the best promotional tool you’ve got in your arsenal.
