are you really my friend?

do your customers love you?

I’ve commented before about using social media for business, and suggested that it is something most businesses should be looking at. But let’s not close our eyes to the pitfalls. In a recent report in the Australian media, the supermarket chain Woolworths found out the hard way how not to handle Facebook posting.

It seems that it posted a question on its Facebook page: “Finish this sentence: this weekend I can’t wait to....” Perhaps subliminally offended by the inanity of this, some “friends” of Woolworths took the opportunity to finish the sentence with gems such as “...throw out the fruit and veg I bought at Woolworths only 3 days ago that goes off so much more quickly than the green grocers,” and other such complaints. See Woolworths Facebook page here.

In another Facebook blooper, Westpac bank began deleting critical posts about its interest rate rises, thus indicating that their social media people have not grasped the concept of marketing in this medium. If you invite people - everyone - into a conversation, you don’t get to control what they say. The real skill in using Facebook and Twitter is to see and use the positive opportunities that come with engagement with your clients and customers. 

The article mentioned above singles out Qantas as another victim of social media, with angry tweets filling the Twittersphere during an industrial relations dispute; and the National Australia Bank as an example of successful engagement with customer criticisms, responding to suggestions and critiques positively and pro-actively. Social media is an activist sphere, and a responsive business can actually be changed and improved by its customers’ suggestions.

In the past you may have paid big money to survey your customers to find out how well recognised your brand is, whether it is associated with good value, what customer concerns really are. Welcome to social media, where the customers will tell you all this in a nanosecond, given a platform. 

It’s time not to just broadcast to your customers and clients, but also to listen to what they have to say.

And they are your friends. Really.

finding your clients and customers online

Market to your niche: go where your customers are. Online, this can mean finding the online equivalent of trade publications - what are your current and potential customers reading? Blogs are an obvious choice here: narrow down the sometimes overwhelming blogosphere to those that are leaders in their niche; comment on the discussion, offer to write a guest post, link to your own blog -- join the conversation.

Build a network on Twitter and Facebook and update frequently with interesting info that your network is likely to pass along. Your customer database is no longer a static mail or email list - it’s a web of your contacts who give you potential access to their own web of contacts. Be the first to tweet about a new development, comment on a relevant news story, tell people what's coming up in your field. Follow the trending issues and get involved in those that are relevant.

You can see that content is important. Make your tweets and fb updates punchy and interesting. Those short little posts should be well-written, attention-catching and if possible give a kernel of information. Lead people to your site or blog to find educational material, not merely a hard-sell for your goods or services.

Potential customers may know that you sell the best Italian pasta sauce, but they are more likely to be attracted by a new recipe than a hard sell. They will also be interested in a debate about how to cook pasta - is al dente always best? And what exactly does that mean anyway? Do truffles really add to the flavour? Where do the best truffles come from? ....you get the picture. With great content that is educational, informative, perhaps a little controversial, you will get people reading and talking. And your brand will be out there where the customers are.

The same principal can be applied to legal services, believe it or not. Don’t be afraid to show some personality and wit. ‘Professional’ need not equal ‘boring’. A recent case might have quirky facts, which can provide a witty tweet leading to a blog entry that canvasses the controversial aspects.

Pasta sauce or a judge who got it wrong...talk about it.