'Why Should I Use Social Media?'-- A Guest Post from a Social Media Marketer

Why should I expend
the effort on social media?

Today's guest post, "Managing Reputation and Social Media in a Digital World," is by Kelly Carson, Director of Strategic Marketing, Charter Homes & Neighborhoods

You hear it again and again – social media is the future of business marketing. Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites are experiencing exponential growth, and are gaining prominence in the worlds of marketing and advertising. Most of you already know the basics – a Facebook Page, blog, Twitter account, or LinkedIn profile allows you to talk to current and potential customers and to promote your products, services and latest news. However, for many business owners and marketers, the actual value of social media to their business still seems unclear. Why, you might ask, does my printing firm, landscaping business, B2B supply firm, restaurant, or car dealership need a social media presence?

While I can’t answer each and every objection to spending time on social media, I’d like to tackle one frequent objection I’ve heard – here’s a quick summary:

Why does it even matter if I’m on Facebook or Twitter? Why should I expend effort – and resources! – spending time on sites that are known as “time wasters”? I mean, my customers are on these sites to talk to their friends, and if I start talking to them on Facebook, I’ll just annoy them – or maybe even encourage them to leave negative comments about me!

My response? I believe that social media exists to help people connect in ways that were previously difficult (or impossible!) to do. Want to connect with your best friend from third grade? Just “friend” them on Facebook. Want to vent your frustration with a local restaurant? Tweet away, and Chili’s is listening! The bottom line? No matter what type of firm you are involved with, in order to build relationships with your customers, you need to be present in as many venues where people connect and communicate as you can.

Your customers want a dialogue
and an authentic connection with your company.

Here’s the surprising truth: your customers expect – and even want you to be involved in social media. The capabilities presented by social media have created all new challenges for marketers. No longer can businesses simply “broadcast” a marketing message to customers. These days, your customers want a dialogue – they want to speak directly to the companies that they patronize, and they expect an authentic response from a real person. The more “present” you are where your customers spend their time, the more authentic your connection with them will be! The key for your business is to be where your customers are – whether that is on Facebook, on an online forum, or Tweeting with friends and peers.

You need an active social media presence – and to actively manage your online presence - if you want to know what people are saying about your business and have the chance to respond. In the age of social media, people are becoming increasingly more likely to talk about their experience with your business online. Whether through a tweet, a blog post, an online review, or a comment on Facebook, your customers will find an outlet to express how they feel about you. If you are a member of these sites, you’ll have a greater likelihood of being able to capture – and respond to – these comments. At a minimum, you should take a few minutes to set up free Google Alerts so that you’re notified whenever someone mentions your brand or a keyword related to your brand online.

One additional tip: find someone to keep an eye on your website traffic. Are there a large number of visitors to your webpage from a site you’ve never heard of? If so, check out the URL that they’re coming from – you may be surprised! For example, a few months ago, I noticed a significant amount of traffic coming to our site from a local blog. After doing a little “Googling,” I discovered that the woman who wrote the blog had visited one of our Parade of Homes entries – and then wrote a blog post about how she used it as inspiration as she decorated her own home! As a result, we were able to connect directly with the blogger and share a great review of that home with our other online followers.

Sure, but what if someone complains about my business? I like to think of complaints as “unmade requests.” Rather than ignoring or avoiding your customers’ online complaints, why not address them before they have the chance to fester and grow? People who are unhappy with your business are likely looking for some validation, some sort of response that lets them know that you care. Some of the most successful companies using social media have been able to address their customer’s complaints instantly – just look at Boingo, HP, or Best Buy’s celebrated Twitter customer service efforts. The ability to respond directly to customer complaints is a powerful one. You are reaching out and solving a problem for someone when they are upset or frustrated – meaning that you may just get to be the hero in the story of their customer experience!

Social media: an endeavor worth taking

In the end, while much of social media may still be a “Wild West” yet to be explored and figured out, it’s an endeavor worth taking. Best of luck as you start the conversation!




Charter Homes & Neighborhoods (www.charterhomes.com) is a new home builder based in Lancaster, PA (with a brand new website!) Kelly received her MBA from Harvard Business School in 2010. Originally from Littleton, CO, Kelly has enjoyed working in online marketing and social media since she learned her first snippet of HTML in 2003. You can reach Kelly at kcarson@charterhomes.com.