While in high school I became close friends with our school’s athletic director. Like most schools, sports were a pretty big deal and running that kind of operation was no easy task. So much of the director’s job was being able to react and deal with the concerns of students, parents, coaches, and administrators while representing the school and his department in a respectable manner.
One day I popped into his office to see what was going on.
“Oh, the same ol, Zach,” he said. “Just kissing babies and putting out fires.”
This popped into my head as I was thinking about some strategies we are trying to implement at Ideas and Angles.
One of the first things we advocate is listening to your customers and market before you start adding your own voice to the fray. There are a number of tools that monitor what people are saying about your company and its products\services over the internet.
The key is not to simply think about these situations as feedback but as opportunities for a good customer service situation. If someone writes about a tough experience they have with the company you represent on Twitter, it’s a perfect chance for you come in with a bucket of water and save the day. Offering to help in any way you can and then following up on that creates a great picture of your customer service for a few reasons.
You solved their problem. At the very least you did everything in your power to assist them. Not all issues are solvable. Even if that is the case, showing you did everything in your power for that person means a lot.
In a lot of cases they didn’t ask for the assistance you provided. What a pleasant surprise, right? This person didn’t even have to get on the phone and nag at someone over their issues. They were just venting and you turned that into a workable situation.
The great customer service you are providing is in the open. Other people notice. If you go out of your way to provide a customer service situation in a brick-and-mortar store it is usually an experience only the customer has and you just hope they tell their friends. When you are proactive with these situations on the internet everyone can see these discussions in the open. People notice this kind of movement by a company.
It’s also important to be really nice to people. You have to project an open and friendly attitude. Hopefully this isn’t some huge stretch or anything, a lot of these skills should just apply to your life and not just your social media strategy.
Leave the sales and marketing speak behind, just be a real person. I remember sitting in a store when I was young and the receptionist answered the phone.
“It is a beautiful day at [insert business name], how may I help you?”
Even at a young age, that was off putting to me. I am all for putting a nice face on your business, but who talks like that?
This is where it helps to enjoy your job and services or products you offer. It is easier to encourage and share a passion for what you are representing when you feel the same way. Here are some other things to consider.
Show appreciation to customers any chance you get. This could be as simple as a thanks to a user for following your Twitter account or throwing a free t-shirt to someone who uses and promotes your service a lot.
Stay positive when dealing with a difficult user. A lot of times you are the front line of defense to a customer having a terrible experience. Do your best to empathize and help them out in any way you can. On the other hand there are people that just love to vent or are committed to being unhappy. It is easy to get caught in a back and forth on the Internet. Keep a professional face on things.
Be accessible. You need to receive communication and respond in a time frame and manner that creates confidence on the end of the user.
If you can’t help someone, connect them with someone who can. You can’t know everything. Be well versed with your company and products enough to know where to direct users within your business so they can get help.
Let your personality come through. You are not a robot. People connect easier with someone they can relate to. Let your own personality come out within the framework of your company’s goals and the professionalism the job calls for.
Ok, maybe you won’t be going up ladders to fight blazing infernos or smooching any babies that aren’t yours. But I think my old friend was really on to something.
Had the pleasure of making the breakfast meeting for the Kansas City Social Media Club this morning. A lot of familiar places in the social community were there. It has become apparent there are a lot of hard working people taking on a lot of adventurous projects in the area. It is fun meeting and conversing with people that have the same passion for emerging technologies and are working on them in their own unique way. There is talk of setting up an informal panel moving forward to keep the flow of ideas going. There is also going to be an online resource that is going to have more usability and access to information. Thanks to everyone who came out this morning. Below is a video of everyone talking via Jeff.
Big thanks to @wrytir for hosting the tweetup last night. It is really neat to meet people face to face that you have followed through twitter and even other social media sites. A few you know right when you walk in, like Jeff from Jeffisageek.net, because of his video posts on 12seconds.com, but others you are not quite sure about, especially when they do not have a picture on twitter. @edroberts seems to be in the head seat along with @zenaweist for the Social Media Club KC which we are excited to be a part of and meet people Friday morning at breakfast.
Aaron and I had to head out a earlier than we would have liked, but are looking forward to more meetups in the future. I know Zach would have loved to made it, but work pays the bills right. I also have to give a quit shout out to @derek who I chatted with for quite a while and got some press from mega popular Tech Crunch website.
Product – First things first, you need to know how to describe your product or service to your potential clients. Start by writing out a simple description and hand it to a few people that do not know your business to read. Then ask them if they have any questions remaining about what you do and what they are. Rewrite a second draft incorporating that additional information in and repeat the process until you have a solid description that anyone who reads it once will understand. A crucial point, keep it short enough so a person is not intimidated to read the description just because it seems to be too much to read. How many times do you get to a long blog post and read the first paragraph then just skim the bold or first sentences throughout the rest of the article. This is incredibly important for social media because people have to understand what it is you are offering before they will buy it. They are not seeing it in a physical store where they can pick it up and feel it. You are telling them about it through written word. This will allow you to gain interest in your product or service because people will know exactly what to expect when they purchase it.
Price –Understand the price of your product beyond just the price. Understand the demographic you are going after and the social media mediums to reach more of your population. This will also help when posting or communicating with potential clients by know the keywords you need to use. For instance, if you are selling a Rolex, a keyword would be luxury. People that buy expensive things like to think of them as luxury, not expensive. Many of your social media experiences you will need to hit these keywords in order to attract your potential customers. Make your self easier for them to find.
Place –The place where your product or service can be purchased is key. This may be the most important of all when it comes to the 4 P’s and social media. Ultimately you are always trying to lead your potential customers to where they can purchase your goods and services, or at least learn more about them. If you sell it online, constantly show your clients where and how easy it is to do so. If you have a brick and mortar store you want them to attend, use the next P, promotions, to attract clients. Keep in mind your place of business so you know to key in on social media outlets that allow you to search by location.
Promotion – This is where it gets fun. The most important thing about this is to HAVE FUN. Create really fun ways to engage customers. Remember to not always try to sell through promotions. This is also a great way to get very informative feedback. A really cool idea I thought of would be for a product sold at many different locations in the same general area and creating a scavenger hunt via social media outlets, such as Twitter, for clues. How cool would it be to go to 6 different shoe stores and fill out your Nike survey card at each and in order, to receive 50% off a pair of Nike shoes at the end?
For fans of the show Mad Men on AMC you can now follow your favorite characters on Twitter. I’ve seen no conformation that the people at the AMC are behind it, but the characters follow who they are on the show to a “T” whether interacting with each other or followers. The character’s profiles also have a link to AMC’s official site either through SterlingCooperAdvertising.com or through AMCtv.com.
madmen
A very interesting use of social media, congratulations to the people behind it! We will certainly be watching….
Just wanted to drop in a quick post and shout out to the KC Social Media Club. I am really looking forward to meeting some new people next week! Below are the events listed on the KC Social Media Club wiki. You can also get there anytime by clicking on the cool logo in our far right column.
People have been obsessed with traffic since the internet has been around. I remember constantly trying to take any bit of information I could out of my first attempt at a website in 1997 from my parked GeoCities site. What was once simple bean counting has turned into the complex world of analytics.
When discussing the idea of a media strategy there are a few things we have trouble helping people understand.
The goal is not increased traffic. It is genuine connections and conversations.
Don’t get me wrong. At Ideas and Angles we love traffic. More people putting eyes on your content means more exposure and more exposure means more money but eyes on your product or service isn’t the end all metric for success anymore.
If your product is a bike then we are much more interested in one bike shop owner being able to recommend your company to his customers because of the expertise you have built up and shown him than 100 people simply being able to see you sell a cool looking bike.
The fruits of a successful media strategy is often shown in content you didn’t author.
A small percentage of users create the information information internet users consume. Think about that. All the people that get information are getting it from a very select group of people. You need to find a way to connect with these users so they can relay your message to their readership who they have already built trust with.
Think about the message you are communicating as a snowball that starts rolling downhill. The further it goes the bigger it gets but your initial push only got it going. Once it is out of your grasp it takes a life of its own. You could only see the effect it had while it was in your sight.
You are planting the seeds of conversation for a select group of people that have interest in it to take and do your niche marketing for you. Throughout this process the amount of “hits” your web presence gets could be a very small percentage of the people that are getting your message.
Your ability to create a presence as a trustworthy source of information and present clear communication that content generators can take and pass on to their readers is paramount.
Chances are, the people that read your blog, read it for a reason. They are interested in the topics you write about because they either practice it themselves, or they are reading to learn and probably have some sort of base knowledge. Blogging is a fantastic way to connect with people that are like you or may like what you have to offer. It is a fantastic way to create the community feel around what you like or what you have to offer. And it is a fantastic way to create “expert” status.
When you write about something, and often, people assume you know what you are talking about and see you as some sort of expert. When you slip up, you lose all credibility. It is like the marriage counselor that come to find out, is cheating on their spouse. Once credibility is lost, you are no longer going to be a hub for any network regarding said topic. And the ultimate goal of a social media strategy is to create a great network where you are the connector.
Everyone always remembers the connector. Seriously, think about it. Who is one of your best friends? How did you meet them? Was it through another friend? Can you name the person that introduced you? Exactly. Connectors are the people that lead. And leading is what you do as an expert. It goes full circle. Do not let it slip away by one careless blog post in which your readers know more than you and discredit any of your expertise. I am not saying that you have to be the smartest person in the room, but be able to hold your own. If you comment section turns into people correcting you, kiss your readership goodbye. They will gladly read the blog of the person that is able to correct you. So know what you are talking about before you talk about it factually. Because if you do not, the blogging community is too savvy to not recognize it and crush your credibility, thus crushing your social media platform. Social media is about community and sharing information. The information is expected to be correct information.
