How can you use social media to improve your products and services?
By listening to what people are saying. Leaders hate to hear bad news, but that’s really how you can improve your product, your service and your company, because you are getting instantaneous feedback.
If you have a blog, allow for comments and feedback, which is a great way to start a dialogue about your brand. If a blog doesn’t allow feedback, people start to wonder if you’re worried about the feedback you’re going to get. It’s all about being as transparent as possible and allowing for a really good conversation to take place. Current research shows that people can be less trusting of brands these days, so looking as if you are trying to hide something doesn’t help strengthen that desired bond with customers.
In addition, you need to monitor what is being said about your company. This allows you to get immediate feedback on your business and, if it’s negative, address it head-on. For example, a friend recently Tweeted about how bad his cell phone company was, and the company actually called him to say, ‘We saw you mentioned us online and that you weren’t satisfied with our service — and we want to make you happy.’ He went from someone who was complaining about the brand to someone who became an evangelist for the brand, which is ultimately what we’re all after with our consumers.
What is the biggest mistake companies make with social media?
One of the biggest mistakes a company can make is hiring someone to handle its social media strategy based solely on his or her understanding of the technology. For example, someone right out of school may seem like an obvious choice to head up your social media efforts, but while that person may understand the technology, they may not have a clear understanding of the company’s brand position and brand message — and what information is best to distribute. You really have to be careful about who you put in charge of your social media activities.
TOM DENNIS is vice president of Business Development at BrandExtract, an integrated branding and communications firm that guides growing companies by providing strategic branding solutions, marketing communications, advertising, print and interactive services. Reach him at (214) 770-7378 or [email protected] or go to the company’s Web site at www.brandextract.com.
