Social Media for Business

IFSA March 2013

Considering Your Options

Why Bother?

i.e. does social interaction lead to sales?

People Buy from People (they like)

• Build relationships• Encourage personal staff accounts• Offer solutions through interaction• Provide support and advice• Be an expert• Get familiar• Ask questions• Listen, listen, listen

• Comfortable enough to ask for advice• Advice and solution offered• Booking made!

The Highs and Lows of Being Social

• Communication• Personality• Sharing• Tell your stories• Positive WOM• UGC

Benefits

Feedback

• Feedback – not always good?• Consistency• Putting the right personality in charge• Protecting your brand online• Customer service – 24/7?• Weekends off

Challenges

Tweet in haste, repent when you are getting slammed online!

Bad PRSome of you may

remember this after the Olympics – tweet sent from the Twitter account of a Dublin restaurant

Mind your Manners!• Users are quick to be critical and accuse• They feel safe and fairly anonymous• Cyber bullying is an issue and greater

education and understanding should be promoted by all

• It can be damaging to people and businesses in the short term – but keep it in perspective!

Online PR Opportunities

Tweet your Order

Brand Reputation

• Act quickly• Get advice if necessary• Advise staff on what is happening• Issue a well thought out statement• Respond in as many forums as possible• New material replaces old so produce fresh

content

What to Avoid

• Spam• Lack of response to

messages• Communicating too

often with too many messages together

• Pushing products• Posting cheesy images• Information that’s

useless

• Brands saying that they know what you want..they don’t.

• Censorship of negative feedback

• Poor engagement strategies

• Bad grammar• Corporate speak

Quick Survey What Users Don’t Want

Homework!• Do your research• Make a plan (set targets and deadlines)• Get other people involved• Make it easy to stay on top of communication• Know the etiquette (get some training!)• Take it one step at a time!

Thank you!