I’d like to tell you that social media is all about butterflies and rainbows but you probably already know that’s not true.
A great feature of social media has been the advocacy action – the grassroots community building initiatives that have toppled the bad and uplifted the good.
Stories of these incidents are of a sort that (wait for it) go viral.
It’s become a custom amongst the social media set, when confrunted with truly terrible customer service to Tweet, post on Facebook and publish blog content chronicling dastardly customer service deeds.
BEWARE THE BUSINESS THAT DARES NOT LISTEN.
It’s true; we have come to expect that businesses — particularly larger brands, are at least listening online. We hope (and I believe, have a right to expect) that brands are responding to their own accounts. If you’re contacting a brand to complain on the brand’s Facebook page or with an @ reply message on Twitter, they should contact you to see how they can help.
Right?
I’m concerned about this — I’m concerned that maybe we’re an overly entitled generation, demanding superior customer service not just from big brands but all the way down to small Mom and Pop shops that may not have the resources to respond to all vehicles of communication.
Now, should these companies be setting up Twitter accounts or Facebook pages if they’re just going to ignore or abandon them? Should they have an 800 number if no one is ever going to answer it? Probably not.
What do you think? Have customer satisfaction stories in which social media plays a role made us more demanding? Is that fair?
I’ve been at this social media bit for awhile. Longer, in fact, than we called it that. Long enough ago that the word blogger was whispered, like it was cancer.
I’ve adapted to new tools and the updates of existing tools and every day I’ve learned something new. One thing hasn’t changed through all of it though and it’s this: what really matters here are the relationships.
Sure, I might focus my content in a specific area to generate new visitors. I might narrow the focus again to try to attract people who might be interested in my help. But I guarantee it’s the relationship that is formed from the interaction between visitors and content producers that keeps people involved in the conversation.
I read the blog posts of people I’ve talked to on Twitter. I have followed the blogs of people I’ve met in person or heard speak at conferences. I’ve struck up conversation with people because others follow them and talk to them. I’ve been thrilled to pieces when one of the big guys in my industry have replied to something I’ve said.
When there’s something geographically, philosophically, politically, etc. I see that I think will be of interest to them, I share it. They often do the same for me. When there’s something that will benefit them, I reach out. The favor is often returned.
I’ve made real, true friends in this online space, some of them I’m closer to than my own colleagues at work (or at least interact with more often). People I admire and respect — people like Ken Mueller, Matt Ridings, Stephen Bolen (who totally had my back during kayakgate), Eric Kelley (who is totally getting some Gooey Butter Cake from me this week!), my BFF Gini Dietrich and my newest friend Paula Berg.
Today’s food for thought? Don’t lose sight of the big picture when you’re mired in SEO and content development. It’s the people you meet along the way that make all the difference.
Here’s the deal: no one cares about your blog. No one cares about your status updates or your Twitter feed. No one.
The fact is, people care about you.
Once again I’m reminding you that social media is about relationships. No one has a relationship with a website; they have a relationship with the person who updates it, the person who posts the content that is the tweet or the update or the photo, the video or podcast.
It’s true, no one cares about your blog, but a lot of people care about you. Think about that before you post. Are you posting as a person or as a corporate bot? Are you posting as a friend, trying to make the world a better place, or as a content generator trying to boost SEO.
People do business with people.
So many companies, retail stores, nonprofits, restaurants and small businesses are making a colossal mistake. They’re creating Facebook profiles for their businesses — not pages.
Here’s the difference: I am a person, so I have a Facebook profile. It looks like this:
This is the Facebook page for the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport (client).
It’s not easy to figure this out, since Facebook changes almost daily but what you want for your business or organization is an Official Page, as seen below on the right. NOT a Community Page, which is the choice on the left.
Once you’ve set up your official Facebook Page, here are 10 things you can do with it, to generate “likes” or fans and build your community.
1. Add all events and post them
2. Post photos from events
3. Ask the community questions
4. Introduce topics for discussion
5. Feature key volunteers/members
6. Provide educational material
7. Link to external articles and other content of interest to the organization
8. Pass along special offers to the community when available
9. Celebrate organization “wins”
10. Inform the community about legislation and advocacy action they can take when appropriate.