04 Nov The Potential of Social Media for Businesses
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[/frame]We live in an age where so much of our communication is done over multimedia platforms – texting, email, social media – vocabulary that was meaningless 10 years ago is now part of our daily jargon – we’re constantly “friending,” “tweeting,” even “poking.” So what does all of this mean for businesses? It’s easier than ever for the higher-ups of a company to connect with their customers – to see what they’re really saying, unedited and unpolished. Gone are the days of comment cards or phone questionnaires to rate a business – these days it’s all about the Facebook Fan Page, the Twitter updates, the YouTube channels.
Businesses can easily, and more importantly cheaply, get their name out there, but what’s arguably even more important is the ability to understand customers on a personal level. Someone writes a business review about you? Makes a Facebook comment? Now you, a representative of the business, have the ability to reach out to them personally by commenting on their review or Facebook post, by following them on Twitter – there’s huge potential for a snowball effect of networking. More fans, more followers, more business.
I became a loyal customer for life of a certain LA eatery because I wrote a Yelp review for it, and the owner of the business wrote back to me – just a quick message thanking me for the review. It made such an impression – the personal touch of it – that I’ll always recommend that place to anyone and everyone I can (speaking of which, check out Blu Jam Café at 371 Melrose if you’re ever in Los Angeles). Make a loyal customer, and it’s almost guaranteed that you’ve made 10 more through word of mouth recommendations from that one happy patron.
It’s never been easier to reach your customers – it’s the click of a button, a few simple keystrokes. Investing in a software that can integrate social media and business reviews into one platform could be a good option, saving you time on searching for what’s being said about your business (visit www.franlocal.com for one good software option). Investing on factors that you know will improve your business is always the way to go, a great example can be found at IRA Gold Advisor.
Is your business reaching its potential and making use of the gold mine that is social media? If not, there has never been a better time to start. So start friending and tweeting your customers already, and watch your business grow.