At every step of the way through Twitter and the email exchanges with Dan M I felt like a highly valued MOO customer, despite the fact that this was not an expensive order and I was a first time customer.
#Tip! Don’t Spam
It may be obvious to some so we’ll keep this one short;
Be careful when engaging on social media - yes, make the connection, network, and offer advice/assistance if you can. If opportunity to give your elevator pitch, then do so, but be careful not to spam people.
If you spam, people will get annoyed and may send a negative vibe to their followers about you. That could be a lot of negative vibe radiating about your business if they have a lot of followers.
In short, learn the etiquette of social media.
Introducing the #jobfairy
The buzz for the last few days has been about a twitter tag #jobfairy. Started by Una Mullally, the #jobfairy is about connecting workers and jobs. Asked by twitter user sNarah as to why she started it she responded simply:
started it earlier in the week and at least two people employed + loads of interviews so far
and
mate of mine was looking 4 summer work so I thought it would make sense to create a hashtag keeping all job-related stuff in 1 place
And the idea has grown. In a couple of days, two completions (people in jobs) have been confirmed and a string of interviews organised. Its easy (and free) way for you to source new talent for your business. Using the #jobfairy tag gets you exposure to other twitter users, who know twitter users, who may be interested in your job.
It’s working according to the response on twitter users like Katie Guinnane;
Katie Guinnane
What a beautiful morning in Dublin and another job interview thanks to #jobfairy x
So, why not monitor the hashtag with a twitter search and see whats out there. If you are seeking new staff then be proactive and offer the job via the hashtag, simply post a tweet describing what you are seeking and include the #jobfairy hashtag on it. If you need to provide more information then add a link back to your web site or blog with the relevant information.
The other thing which is likely to prove useful is the simple twitter retweet (RT). If you come across a #jobfairy post in an area relevant to you or that you think your followers may be interested in you might opt to RT it so that those who follow you will be made aware of it.
Will it last? It’s hard to know in the era where peoples span of attention is shorter than the time taken to read this post - but, does it need to? It would be wonderful if it did but even if it doesn’t last the #jobfairy has already achieved success and that’s a really good thing.
Related posts;
Twitter user Sarah Vanden Broeck has blogged about the #jobfairy hashtag.
The #jobfairy ‘s twitter search stream.
Una Mullally (mother of the #jobfairy)
Unanswered questions
Lots of questions at and after #SMMB2011. Well if you’ve still a burning question that didn’t get answered, there’s a link to ask us anything social media related (top right of page) - ask away (within reason) and we’ll publish a reply or if we don’t know the answer, we’ll ask someone who does.
If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends. If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends.
Innovate!
We recently posted about being original and capturing the imagination of your audience. To add to this, it is important when using social media in business to seek out ways in which you can innovate. Your innovative approach will capture the imagination of your existing followers and gain you new followers.
We read with interest the a post from the Digital Marketing Institute who highlighted the current innovative approach of the band The Kaiser Chiefs. They have a clever approach to launching and marketing their new album “The Future is Medieval” with a new form of customer/fan engagement. Their approach involves;
- recruiting their fans to produce the album tracks(perform a selection),
- design the artwork for the cover(from available online materials),
- provide the tools to do the marketing(a resulting webpage), and
- reward them for any sales that ensue(deposit money in your online paypal account).
According to the Digital Marketing Institute;
It’s a great marketing campaign and it shows a band that are willing to innovate to increase sales in what is an incredibly tough market. I’m not sure there is a market to release every album in this style but it will certainly create tons of buzz online for the Kaiser chiefs…
Here’s how it works - fans do a mix of 10 songs (of 20 available), design their own cover, and pay £7.50 for their download of the album. When this is done, the fan has a web page where the album can be bought by their followers/fans/contacts and for each sale the fan gets rewarded with £1. The more marketing the fan does, the more reward they will earn and the more revenue which will go to the music companies/band.
The market is changing and social media is bringing mechanisms through which this change is occuring. In this case, if your social network has similar tastes in music, you may be rewarded should they decide to purchase your mix of the Kaiser Chiefs.
They have even thought up a clever little promotional video to demonstrate in a non techy way how the whole thing works.
#Tip! Embrace negative feedback
There is always a thorny question at the back of all our minds of “how do I deal with negative feedback if I am engaging with social media?” In fact businesses may be fearful of engaging with social media on the basis that people may say negative things about them. This is often backed up by sensational stories in the media which affirm such fears. In business, whether online or offline - sticking your head in the sand doesn’t work.
It is important to understand that social media differs from traditional models in that it is played out in a public setting and is as much about listening and responding in real time to what your customer base is saying about their experience with you as it is about selling your product or service. You will strive for your customers to always have a positive experience of dealing with you however there may be times when for whatever reason, negative feedback is posted on the social networks about you.
Dealing with negative feedback is not a difficult thing to do as in general people are reasonable and in business you are already experienced at handling customer feedback. To get the best from your social media you must be proactive, empathetic, and take whatever action is appropriate to remedy the negative perception. We came across some research which suggests that the vast majority of negative feedback can be remedied and when appropriately remedied such customers may actually become advocates of your business. Why? Because you have understood their issue and responded appropriately.
Should an individual be clearly unreasonable then consider that there actually may not be a remedy to their issue and you should move on as quickly as possible. For all others investing some time in resolving or addressing the issue is a worthwhile pursuit. If your business has messed up then put your hands up as early as possible and offer remedy to the situation. If a customer who is displaying negative sentiment towards your business is at fault, try guide them through the issue offering what help and assistance you can. This in the real world is what business people refer to as after sales support.
Embrace any negative feedback or sentiment. Understand from the customers perspective what the issue is and offer some remedy or at least assist your customer through the particular issue. Doing so will provide an opportunity to reverse a negative perception to form a positive experience. Consider it an investment which will pay you back in multiples over time.
