Social networking sites can be very effective as a direct marketing relationship building/maintenance tool for businesses. They are also a great way of getting customer feedback. They shouldn’t be thought of in terms of traditional advertising. Though the results are not to be expected in short term, you’ll reap your rewards over the long haul in terms of customer relations.
Businesses can create pages on Facebook of which people can become “fans.” When they do, your businesses icon becomes a part of their profile page, thus exposing your brand to their network of friends.
Once someone becomes a fan of your page, you can communicate with them through updates, you can invite them to events, they can comment on your profile and you can even let them upload photos and/or video to your profile. Fans can hold discussions amongst themselves on your page. Page owners have ultimate control over what user generated content can appear on their profile.
Businesses should get to know the social network within which they are planning to set up shop before actually doing so. Open an account, explore, use the network as you imagine your customers would use it. Examine how people behave on the site. What type of conversations are they having? How do communications flow through the site.
Once you feel you have a grasp of how the network works, ask yourself if you have the ability and the commitment to update content on your page frequently, how you plan to communicate with your customers through it, and, most importantly, how you plan to market your presence there. Too often, people set up shop and then do nothing with their presence there. That is worse than not being there at all. If you’re not prepared to be an active participant on the site, don’t do it.
Businesses can create pages on Facebook of which people can become “fans.” When they do, your businesses icon becomes a part of their profile page, thus exposing your brand to their network of friends.
Once someone becomes a fan of your page, you can communicate with them through updates, you can invite them to events, they can comment on your profile and you can even let them upload photos and/or video to your profile. Fans can hold discussions amongst themselves on your page. Page owners have ultimate control over what user generated content can appear on their profile.
Businesses should get to know the social network within which they are planning to set up shop before actually doing so. Open an account, explore, use the network as you imagine your customers would use it. Examine how people behave on the site. What type of conversations are they having? How do communications flow through the site.
Once you feel you have a grasp of how the network works, ask yourself if you have the ability and the commitment to update content on your page frequently, how you plan to communicate with your customers through it, and, most importantly, how you plan to market your presence there. Too often, people set up shop and then do nothing with their presence there. That is worse than not being there at all. If you’re not prepared to be an active participant on the site, don’t do it.
