Who are your customers?
Most Mondays I write about Remark!able use of social media by a business or non-profit. Today is going to be a bit different. I’m going to feature the other half of the social networking equation; your customers.
Each day your customers create Remark!able tidbits of information all over the web. Consumers blog, microblog, and share pictures and video at an astounding rate. Most people are talking about their daily experiences with their favorite companies, products, and brands. Whether casual or intentional, if you look closely, you will find people talking about where they want to spend their money, what they are looking to buy, problems they would like help solving, and past buying experiences they are looking to avoid.
Did you know that more than 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) are shared each month on Facebook alone, and each person creates over 90 pieces of content each month? *Facebook Statistics
Just like America’s Most Wanted, you can use pictures and media to find the people you’re looking for; your customers. It’s unlikely you are looking for criminals in your target market, but social media will help you discover a wealth of information.
Watch People on Facebook
What would you think if you saw someone post on Facebook that she just got back from a successful deer hunting trip?
I would hope that if you’re a taxidermist, hide collector, or own a local meat processing plant that you’d see plenty of potential in sending out a congratulations and extend an offer to turn the meat into the best jerky she’ll ever taste thanks to your #1 customer voted “secret venison jerky recipe”.
Pay Attention on Twitter and Look at Pictures
Take a look at this picture of a Kraft product and guess what happened when @itabarau posted the picture and tweeted it along with, “@kraftfoods I truly believe this is unacceptable. I think you need a better QA, but some free Mac and cheese will do. “
Kraft was watching and wasn’t afraid to publicly respond on Twitter with, “@itabarau Sorry about this. I definitely want to report this the QA team. Can you please follow us and let us know so I can DM you? Thanks!”
Check Out Videos on YouTube
Can you believe that some people spend their time comparing products and creating compelling video, just for fun? This guy believes we all should create media and chooses random topics like this one for his “things I like and things I don’t like” series:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4vyRPcsrHU[/youtube]Interactions like these take place by the millions each day. A great place to start is by listening to your customers and potential customers. These two articles by Steve Gasser, “Do you know what the single most important ingredient is in your business?” and “Rural Businesses Can Harness the Power of Social Media in One Hour a Day” begin to walk you through this process of connecting with your customers.
If you have a story or example of Remark!able use of social media, please share it in the comments section or email me at info@vimm.com
