Are you maximizing your opportunities to truly engage with your customers online?

As recently as a few years ago, companies that dipped their toes in the waters of social media were the exception rather than the rule. Now the converse is true — it is rare to find a company that has not established at least some media presence online beyond their website – whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, or some other social media platform, business owners are finally starting to realize that it’s important to have an online presence.

However, just having an online presence isn’t enough. When a brand establishes itself on Facebook or Twitter, it would be well-served to realize that true successes abound for companies who do more than shout into the ether. A customer’s perception of YOUR BRAND may at one point hinge on their experience with you online.

• Are you responsive to questions?
• Do you engage in conversation?
• Are you open to constructive criticism?
• Are you hearing their feedback and then seeking to improve your product or service based on the response you get?

The world’s eye was recently turned to the very subject of social media and customer service recently when writer/director Kevin Smith was removed from a Southwest Airlines flight for being “too fat to fly”. Immediately, Smith took to Twitter with tweets (most expletive-laden) about his experience. Quite understandably, he was frustrated, embarrassed and angry. It was clear that fans were sending tweets on Smith’s behalf when the Southwest Airline’s agent sent a general tweet on the Southwest account assuring Smith’s fans that she had seen Kevin Smith’s tweets and was working on it.

Southwest had a real opportunity to step up to the plate and fix this situation – but somehow stumbled initially, posting a somewhat snarky post that wasn’t quite an apology, as well as divulging Kevin Smith’s purchasing patterns – information that one would think would be considered private. They later wrote a second post in which the writer stated that she’d “learned a lot” and that they were working to make the situation right.

If you take a look at Kevin Smith’s tweet (pictured above), you’ll also see that it was retweeted by over 100 people. That is over one hundred negative impressions of a company based on the tweets of one man (who happens to have over a million followers). That’s one tough stumbling block to overcome.

In your organization, the person responding to comments and tweets has an opportunity to change a negative experience into a positive. Twitter offers you the opportunity to speak not only TO your audience, but WITH them. Engage in discussions, seek feedback, find out what people really LOVE about your product and service, and when they’ve had a negative experience find out why.

The time you spend in your online tasks are not just so people can hear YOU, but so you can hear them.

Want to learn about how you can start this conversation with your target market? Contact Brand Ready Media to determine the best marketing strategy for your company.