Social Media – Some Truths

Social media is new. It’s exciting. It is undefined. Some think this is scary. It is actually brilliant.

As social media develops, we are constantly discovering new opportunities that open up for business to be part of the conversation. This involves a bit of risk taking from the client and the agency and the ability to say – it’s okay if we failed. We’ll pick ourselves up, learn from it and come back stronger. It’s what keeps you ahead of the game.

Social media isn’t just marketing. It is customer service. It is product development. It is research. It is talking. It is also listening.

The benefits of social media aren’t restricted to one clearly defined discipline.The uses it provides are wide and varying. If you approach it with open eyes you can hope to find the (inevitably uncomfortable) truth. If you want feedback on your new product – why not start a conversation in a forum? If someone’s complaining about you online – why not train your customer service department to deal with complaints? Don’t restrict your social media marketing to just marketing.

Social media is putting a window on your business. It is opening the door. It is making yourself vulnerable to criticism in the hope that you will learn. It is not meant be easy. It is meant to be an adventure.

By experimenting in social media, you are opening your brand up to the world. You are giving your business a face and inviting people to talk to you. You might not like what you hear, you might want to hide and shut out the bad. When you open a shop you are inviting people to come in and buy your goods ; if people aren’t happy you don’t shut the door in their face.

When you open up your brand online you are saying you will take the good with the bad. You listen to the negative and you learn from it. You should be glad people are willing to talk about you at all. Embrace it, ask them to say more. You will learn from it, your business will be stronger and your product will better. People are telling you this for free. If they’re not able to tell you, they will tell someone else. They’ll visit the competitor across the road and your shop will be empty.