Speak and Listen to your consumers !
More and more businesses are getting on social networking platforms, especially Twitter. I’ve come across many (in fact, way too many) company accounts that are either pretty much inactive or can be classified as ‘spammers’. Sure, 140 characters is good enough for business advertisements, quick and cost-effective. What’s more ? It’s free ! But doing it the wrong way can actually backfire your plans and destroy all potential relationships you may gain.
From personal experiences, I think it is important for business to bear in mind a few tips before starting to reach out to your crowd on social networking sites, IMHO :
1) Know your audience, listen to their needs !
Recently there was this email spam from a certain property agency that pissed most tweeples off. As for me, I think it’s quite silly to email me (of all people!) who have yet to pay off my university debt to check out the new apartments in town. Seriously, do some research and know who are your target audience ! Obviously I don’t need a condo yet?!
I think it’s a good and important thing that companies are starting to ‘listen’ online to their consumer’s needs too ! I tweeted about looking for a short term rental apartment in Hong Kong just yesterday and I got a reply from @Ascott_Ltd recommending their serviced residences. Perfect example of listening to what your customers need and responding to what they are looking for, without sounding too pushy.
2) Don’t just be yet-another-brand, be personal !
It’s no longer about how ‘BIG’ your brand is but consumers need to be ‘entertained’. It’s nice to know there are ‘real people’ behind the online presence too. We like to see behind-the-scenes after a movie is out, so same goes for brands online. We’re not talking to bots afterall !
I personally like @standingsushi even thought I have yet to try their food. Mainly because I read about them on their blog and I really liked how they bring their concept across. And when I mentioned to my bestie that I want to visit @standingsushi someday, I immediately received a personal message to welcome my future visit. It certainly makes me want to go down and check it out personally (real soon!).
3) It’s about profit BUT more about relationship !
Be a ‘friend’ rather than an annoying salesman. You need to build a relationship based on trust, sincerity and constant interaction. Sure, not everyone can buy your products all the time but hey, no harm retweeting or spreading the message to others who can possibly do so if I like you. Don’t just follow everyone and expects to be followed back instantly. It’s not about the numbers either.
I like @thegardenslug alot as you can see from my tweets if you’ve been following. I started off not knowing what they have to offer but I don’t feel that their main objectives of being online is to force people to visit them but instead, to build a relationship with their customers. That’s definitely a (Popsicle) brownie point for me and when I visited them, I knew it won’t be the last time I’m going over because The Garden Slug won my heart with their friendliness and awesome food.
4) Don’t act like a naggy old fart. Stop repeating the same messages!
This is spamming. Quality over quantity. 987123415623 tweets about the same product isn’t going to get you sales. We get your message but we may not like it. In fact, count yourself lucky if you still have 1 follower at the end of the day.
5) Reach out – help – contribute !
Sometimes it’s not just about your brand. No one really cares about you on twitter since it’s such a huge community unless you reach out to them individually. Introduce yourself at the right time – don’t be too money-minded aka not too eager to sell your product/services. Promote others or retweet their messages is a good way to start, it’s not just about you afterall. It’s all about the charm and making people genuinely interested in you. Share interesting relevant links or include pictures or videos in your messages. People will follow you if they enjoy reading your tweets.
6) Customer is always number 1. (not entirely true but that’s the saying)
(Almost) Real-time customer service is probably the best thing that one can get from social networking sites. I like how @Starhubcares try to answer to everyone’s enquries and drop direct messages to assist you when you are getting pissed holding on to the phone for half an hour listening to that awful waiting tone. Sometimes it just takes a tiny effort to pacify your angsty customers and we like it when you are willing to listen to our feedback and improve. It’s a 2 way communication afterall.
—
Of course I’m no expert and I may be wrong but at least that’s how I feel as a consumer. Any good case studies or examples that you can think of ? Or any other tips you can think of to share ? Open to discussion =)
It’s Time For Me To Start Thinking ‘The Unthinkable’
Nobody can predict the future, that’s for sure. With 1.5 more years to my graduation, thinking about my future career plans now is like thinking the ‘unthinkable’ with the ever changing world. But that brings me to my point that “the world is full of possibilities” and I intend to consider them all.
There is one thing I took away from my 3 years in Temasek Design School and that is ‘Passion’. It is important to be passionate about your (future) profession instead of dragging your feet to work every morning with a grumpy face. From recent Wall Street Journal, “Doing the Math to Find the Good Jobs “, it is questionable to whether the data has anything based on ‘Job Satisfaction’ to call it ‘good jobs’. (Researcher Bias?)
As an aspiring Experiential Marketer/Wedding Planner (which I personally think that it puts my Interactive Media Design Diploma and Social Sciences Degree into a perfect match), it may not be as glamorous as others would imagined it to be but I find the job rewarding when I get satisfied feedback and smiling faces throughout the event.
Passion driven, communication and interaction with people, brainstorming for creative ideas and pulling off an event as a team at the end of the day, I think each event is a challenge that pushes my limit further each time. Nobody will teach you what to do when you’re at your job, from my internship experiences, I think it is up to an individual to live and love your job – whatever your ‘chosen path’ might be.
The world is indeed full of possibilities, I’m thankful to be able to attend events as a ‘blogger’, an experiential marketing internship at IRIS as well as networking with many others via social media platforms. I hope to reach out to more like-minded people or potential employers who share the same passion – being part of that special moment in someone’s life and creating a memorable experience for them (and myself).
I’m always looking for more new learning experiences so contact me at ingridmak (at) gmail (dot) com , leave a comment or drop me a tweet at @iammyy !
