Recently, I tested another company’s responsiveness with social media.  I posted a comment on Sears’ Facebook page, explaining I was having an issue with my washing machine, exactly same issue large numbers of people on the internet were also having. Although Sears was did have a customer service person promise to look into it, no response after days. So I posted another sentence asking for a response to my earlier post. Again a promise to look into it and then nothing. Sorry Sears, you are missing the boat. An answer that doesn’t make me happy would be better than no answer. Not responding to postings on Company Facebook pages, Twitter etc., is the same as giving an 800# to customers and not answering the phone.

Social media now delivers the news

Lots of people have been talking about the power of Social Media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and more. These tools now not only share news, but also help people make it. Those who use it are aren’t surprised. Those who don’t, and I’m still a bit surprised how many still don’t venture to even the simplest social media tools, don’t quite get it. How can the events in Egypt be so influenced by these silly sites where people tell each other what they are having for breakfast or where they play these games where they can buy virtual farm animals?
But it is reality; these sites are now how our greater society communicates. If you were logged into your social media site during the Superbowl, it is likely you would have seen regular updates on the games and commercials. I was actually preparing and cleaning up dinner, and just by reviewing Facebook every few minutes, I already knew about the National Anthem fiasco, who was up in the score, and that the VW Darth Vader ad was well liked by many of my peers. No more waiting until the morning talk-shows to know what’s hot. I had a good picture real time. That’s only one site, and only comments from my small number of friends. During the Superbowl, there were more than 4,000 tweets every second at the peak. I personally figured it would be overwhelming, so I found FB a better pace for my news.
But social media is now where I typically hear first about so many of the major events of a day. Not only things like the situation in Egypt, but I know when someone famous passes away. I know when bad weather is coming and when it arrives. I know which sports team is doing poorly or well. And so much more. Of course, it is sent through a filter of other people’s perspective so it may not be accurate or unbiased. But it is still news. It’ll be interesting to see how the traditional media responds and adjusts as they are no longer the first or only source for information.

As a customer, I felt comforted in knowing how much progress was being made. I felt some control over being able to access the company, without having to hold on their toll-free phone number. I was impressed by the dedication of their crews out at all hours working to restore power.  These efforts left me feeling just a little less stressed being without power for 6 plus days with 3 little kids.

As a marketer, I was impressed with their decision and dedication to these social media avenues. They realized how important communication is in times of stress. They went above and beyond the traditional methods of support, thus making at least this one customer feeling very positively about their company. Although I don’t have a lot of choice when it comes to selecting power companies. I feel more loyal because of their efforts during this crisis. I worry a little less about their rates. I somehow feel that previously I was paying a few dollars too much each month. Now I feel like those few dollars extra  now are at least going towards paying for a person or persons to better support me when the next crisis hits.

Recently, I became a “fan” of a business who was actively using Facebook. I found their posts very interesting and creative from a marketing sense. Then a day later, I personally received a “Friend request” from someone I didn’t know. When I clicked on his profile for more information, I found that this person was actually the business owner for the company I just “fanned”. Humph… This person was 1/2 way across the country, I didn’t know him, probably wouldn’t ever meet him and didn’t share any mutual friends. I immediately felt uncomfortable. Would I want to share photos of my children with a complete stranger? Would I want to really share with him what I was doing for the day, what I thought about my friends posts? Would I want him to see photos that I get tagged in? Of course not. I felt he crossed the line. Now, I had a negative impression of him and now his organization.  I wish he hadn’t taken that extra step attempting to mix business with personal communications.   I wonder, if this is what it will come to in the years ahead. Will it become acceptable to pry into others lives just because you have a personal connection?

What you may not have considered is that it also helps create a profile of you. It can tell others your political views, your shopping habits, your musical interests,  even your life status: married, children, divorced etc.  If you simply go to the “info” tab on any of your FB friends, you will quickly get an overview or general impression about that person, maybe things that you might have ever known.

Also, people seem to be “Fan”-ing up, for more than receiving information. They are simply picking pages because they either know that person/business personally. Maybe it is your local car dealership, restaurant, insurance company, realtor, or gym. Or they choose to e affiliated with the group because there is some sort of “status” or “statement” to be made when becoming a fan or group member.  They may not have any intention of looking for updates from these groups.  Maybe it is a statement about becoming frustrated with Farmville posts, maybe it’s a statement about gay marriage, maybe a statement about your appreciation for your home town.  Regardless of why you join a group or fan page, you have created a public profile that tells others much more about you than you may have realized.

For instance, if you send them a renewal notice for a service, don’t assume they’ll always save the return envelope provided. Make sure your complete mailing address is on every document you send. Your phone # and website should also be on every single document (and very page of the document). Don’t assume your customers will save all the information. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve miss placed the final page of something, only to find out that now I don’t have all the information needed to submit the form etc.

This is true for any direct mail piece- renewals, invoices, promotional letters- anything!!!! It is also true for  advertisement, press releases, websites (phone #’s should be easily found on every single page of the website).  Historically, people used to insert pre-printed business stationery with this information already on every page, ensuring that this information was always there.  With the advent of word processing, now people are often creating their own documents, and often forgetting this information.  It is probably easiest to create a template of your contact information including your company logo, address, phone #’s, fax #’s, and website. Require all your staff to ensure that all this information is on any document that leaves your facility.

I say, before investing undue hours or even days researching and learning these applications, first find out if your customers/prospects are even using these sites! For instance, if you are selling products to business professionals, then linkedIn may make sense as they are probably using it to network with customers and prospects. But if you are selling products to stay at home mothers, Facebook or other social networking sites like CafeMom may be better suited for your time.  Also, if you are selling technology products that are “cool” then you should make sure that people should be twittering about your products! By understanding your customer’s focus, you can save yourself time by focusing in more appropriate areas.

If you do decide to pursue one or more of these sites, I’d recommend you simply jump in and set up an account on the site.  Set aside 15 minutes or so a day log on and surf the site. Don’t be afraid to click, post, etc. That’s a great way to learn how to use the sites, why people use them, and what is considered “acceptable” ways to use them to grow your business. Most of the time you can edit or delete whatever you do by accident (just remember most of these sites make this information you post public in some fashion!)

For instance, maybe set up your own personal Facebook profile if you don’t have one. It is a great way to stay in touch with friends and family. Additionally business can be generated on this site though this profile- although that is really a secondary goal (but you may find by talking about your day in your “status updates”, people my remember your business and send referrals your way… ).  After you get the hang on Facebook, you can look into a Business Facebook page which is designed to promote businesses and share that with your family and friends network (but that’s a topic for another day!). Good luck and enjoy it! Remember, it should be fun, not scary!

1. It legitimizes you. People now often go to LinkedIn to see your public profile while they are on the phone with you to see learn quickly if you are “real”, that you are truly a player in the industry, and to see if you have mutual friends that they can later check for a reference. It is similar to having your resume online.

2. It legitimizes your business. You can set up a corporate profile in Linked In too. This way they can look up and confirm that your organization is real (and you can position your organization appropriately for your contact base!

3. It allows you to research a prospect. You can check out a person’s public profile and see if you have anything in common to personalize the call. Maybe you have mutual friends or contacts. Maybe you both went to the same college or have similar interests.

4. Connections, connections, connections. They used to say “location, location, location”. Now, it’s invaluable to utilize your connections to grow your business. You can connect with business associates, acquaintances and use it to network with prospect or new organizations through people you know. Recently a contact of mine wanted to get into a particular department in Bank of America. I happened to go to college with a key person in that department in the Boston location. I was more than happy to make the connection so they could help each other grow their business. A win-win for everyone.

5. It’s a “forward Address book”. How many times have you thought of someone that you lost touch with years ago and wanted to reach them to say hello or share a business idea with them? If they were a LinkedIn contact of yours, you’d simply click on their profile and could quickly send them an email to their current address and you’d be back in touch. It’s that simple.

I’d recommend you COMPLETE your LinkedIn profile. You should make sure you include:

1. Several of your past jobs (the farther you go back the more people from your past will find you),

2. Your education. Past classmates are likely to reconnect and support fellow alum.

3. Your website (not only does this help you get more traffic to your site, it further legitimizes your company

4. Your photo. People are more naturally inclined to do business, or network, with someone who seems human. Also, if you do decide to meet a new contact for coffee, you will already know who you are looking for!

5. Upload your email contacts to set up your first contact list. It is a simple step that can help you get the ball rolling. Note- At first, only link with people you honestly know so you don’t spam prospects. Later, as you get established on LinkedIn, you can network with people in groups etc by sending relevant and personalized invitations to connect.

6. Join groups. Groups are a great way to get to know people with similar background, industries, and geographic locations. I’ve had some great networking experiences reaching out to groups of college alumni and parents of my kids schools.

7. I’d also put a link to your LinkedIn profile into your signature line on all your email accounts. People are likely to click it and to ask you to connect with them, further expanding your network.

The internet is an amazing place to get market research- Free! People often think they need to pay for big research projects to learn information that is available on the internet, if you know how to find it.

Try General Search terms: You may want to know if a particular market is growing and how quickly. Use search terms like “trends” “statistics” and “industry” in conjunction with some key words for your product or service. Try a couple of different ways and you will find relevant sites that have already summed up the market for you.

Go to your competitor’s websites or sites that sell to related industries. Most public companies have investor relations pages with this market data readily available in their financial reports.

Find on line “experts” in the industry (bloggers, consultants) who will have relevant information free on their websites. They do this to prove to customers and prospects that they are knowledgeable.

Government and associations: The US government has a ton of information on industries. Places like the Bureau of labor statistics has a wealth of information on different jobs and growth trends in those positions. Also, many key markets have associations that list free information on their market.