We talked before about how important it is to use social media as part of your marketing mix, and we’ve discussed how businesses can get the most from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more.
Now we’d like to show you how it can be so much more than a marketing tool.
- Customer service: It’s not uncommon for people to jump online when they have a question or grievance. This means social media is brilliant for engaging those customers and offering high quality customer service. You have the opportunity to resolve complaints and respond to queries quickly and efficiently. It’s like an online call centre, but much, much better.
- Brand management: Social media is a fantastic brand positioning tool. It allows a business to show the personality behind the brand, and when the perception and reality are one and the same, business will boom.
- Product development: Thinking of bringing a new product to market? Why not use your Facebook Page or Twitter feed to encourage input, incorporate it if suitable, and thank your likers or followers for their thoughts. People love to feel like they have been included.
- Public relations: PR is all about relationship building, and what better way to build a relationship with your customers than to have a true two-way conversation with them? Not to mention that more and more journalists are getting their news leads from social media and you can tap into this by following their tweets and inviting them to follow yours (and maybe like your Facebook page while they are at it.)
- Crisis and issues management: Hopefully, you will never need to use social media for this, but in times of business crisis (all your stock has been ruined in a flood, for instance), getting out on the front foot on Facebook and Twitter can diffuse the situation.
As you can see, effective and strategic use of social media can benefit your business in so many ways.
If you want to learn more, or need some help setting up or managing your social media profiles, give Direct Sites Online a call now on 02 9557 7623 or email info@directsitesonline.com.au