Social media has become a way for businesses to improve their relationships with target audiences, manage customer service and gain further insight into what their clients or customers really want.
Businesses today must understand that social media shouldn’t be used to solely talk about their service or product offering; it’s about finding out what they can do better and then using that information to improve on what they already have.
BusinessWeek.com has provided several lessons businesses can learn when it comes to social media.
The conversation cannot be controlled by the business:
Gone are the days of censorship. Businesses now have to understand that occasionally they are going to see, hear and read about things about them that they are just not going to like (that may position their brand negatively?).
Deleting comments, ignoring negative feedback or only allowing comments from people who have something nice to say just isn’t using social media to its full potential – people are now seeking genuine and honest two-way discussions between them and a brand. Social media is all about good, honest and genuine communication.
Be authentic:
Sometimes businesses will try to be something they are not in the online world. The best advice is to mirror the culture the company has offline, online. Social media will always, in one way or another, expose the true nature of the business and by trying to be something else a business is just setting themselves up to be caught out.
A business’s social activity should reflect reality. By welcoming and responding to constructive criticism and feedback from clients or customers, a business will reflect genuine authenticity and transparency – which will be appreciated and valued by their target audiences.
It’s about the people:
Businesses should try to create a balance between talking about their business and talking about their clients. Communication and stories that have a human element to them will always create significantly higher impressions than those that are solely about what the business ‘s products or services are about.
Read the full article here.
Sydney Public Relations Agency, CP Communications provides specialist media, traditional and online PR strategies that get amazing results. Contact us today. For more great tips visit our website www.cpcommunications.com.au.
