Why Businesses need to Listen to What is said on Social Media

The Importance of Social Listening:

 

Social media provides businesses with a great opportunity to connect with customers and hear what they have to say about your brand. This is all well and good; however some companies fail to actually listen to what their customers have to say. If you are going to give your customers an open forum for them to express their thoughts on your brand, then you need to monitor the conversation.

 

 

Listening to Complaints:

If people are voicing their dislike for a current product, or their dissatisfaction with the customer service they received, then you need to address this and resolve the situation quickly. There is no point in merely deleting negative posts, this angers customers and only adds fuel to the flame. Think of who posted the negative comment as an angry customer causing a fuss in a shop, however this time they can be heard by potentially thousands of people.

Negative posts on social media have a distinct way of gaining traction online. One negative post can have a domino effect, causing a string of negative posts based on previous incidents. A customer who has poor previous experience with a brand may see a post criticising this brand and this may entice them to post about their bad experience with the brand. To stop this effect it is important to respond to complaints quickly and respectively, but don’t aggravate the situation!

Listening to What Your Customers Want:

 When making changes to products or services, it is good to keep the customer in mind. Social media can be a great tool for testing some new ideas. This can be done in a friendly and casual way like ‘any suggestions for what flavour our new ice cream should be?’ Posts like this can start the conversation with your customers whilst giving you an insight as to what they actually want in comparison to what you think they want.

A great example of a company who listened to their social media fans is Cadbury. In 2003 they took their much loved Wispa bar of the shelves. However by 2007 the bar had gained quite a cult status by those who remembered the bar fondly. This brought about various social media campaigns including a Facebook campaign entitled ‘Bring Back Wispa’. This group gained a large following and eventually Cadbury listened and jumped on the band wagon, which led to a hugely successful re-launch.

Conclusion:

Listening to what your customers have to say is vital to developing strong relationships with your customers. Through social media customers can be heard by many, so it is important that you hear them also.

Listening to what your customers have to say is not only an action which is of benefit to them, more importantly it is a benefit to your business. Through listening to what they have to say, your business can gain great insights as to what your customers think about your products and services. Listening to your customers through social media can also lead to product innovation as no one knows what your customer wants more than your actual customer.

At Webresults we offer a wide range of digital marketing services including the management of social media pages. For more information on how we can help your business get the most out of social media please contact us.

10 Tips for Linkedin Networking

Are you on Linkedin? See how Linkedin can benefit you and your business through networking and making your profile more visible! Read our article on the 10 Tips for Linkedin Networking now!

To read the full article, visit 10 Tips for Linkedin Networking.

For more information on social media marketing and web marketing, contact us.  For more information on this topic, click here.

Tips On Optimising Your LinkedIn Company Page

Have you got a company page on LinkedIn yet?  Read our tips on set up and usage of your LinkedIn company page to understand they whys and what’s of your page and why your company needs one!

To read the full article, visit Tips On Optimising Your LinkedIn Company Page.

For more information on social media marketing and web marketing, contact us.  For more information on this topic, click here.

A Quick Guide to Social Media Marketing

Have you started using social media to promote your business? Are you unsure of how to use it properly/effectively for online advertising? Our article on Social Media for beginners may be just what you need to understand how and why it is a great tool for your business.

You can read more about Social Media Marketing at A Quick Guide to Social Media Marketing.

If you would like more information on social media marketing and web marketing, contact us.  For more information on this topic, click here.

Benefits of Using LinkedIn for Business

Social Media for Business

LinkedIn is a great tool for business, connecting you to customers, potential customers and potential affiliates and business partners. But it’s under-utilised, often due to lack of awareness.

To find out how to use LinkedIn for your Business Hubspot have developed a free ebook, check it out here.

For more information on using social media for business contact WebResults today. We offer LinkedIn Training Days and other social media training services.

How to create a Company Page on LinkedIn

Looking at Google AdPlanners statistics for LinkedIn is quite interesting from an advertising perspective. You will see it has a reach of 14% at the moment but this is constantly increase. Then if your company is targeting professionals it would make sense to ensure you have a Company page on LinkedIn.

 

LinkedIn is a powerful way to reach a professional target market through word of mouth recommendations and trusted testimonials. So how does one go about setting up a Company page on LinkedIn?

Crystal swing some international clients for your business

So what could Crystal Swing have to do with international trade?

Crystal swing‘s recent foray into the US market is just another example of when the web, and social media in particular, acts as a communication tool to establish an overseas market.

This is a bit of fun really, but it still acts as a good example as to how a business could ‘test the waters’ online before committing capital to sales, marketing and production overseas. Now, i’m not saying if you release a YouTube Video on the in’s and out’s of textile manufacturing it will attain 532,936 views, but if it can achieve 1000 views, with feedback through comments, you could have gained clients as well as carried out your market research.

The people at the Ellen Degeneres show in the US got a hold of this clip and it was broadcast on St.Patrick’s Day this year. Honoring a vow she made to have the Cork trio appear on the show at that stage; they performed for up  to 4 million viewers this week live on her show.

Using this as a kind of odd case study for business expansion overseas, a simple pattern emerges:

1. When you decide to provide a product or service abroad, test the market. Create great content around your service using video, photography, articles etc. to be posted on social media sites like YouTube and Facebook.
2. Its not a case of sit back and wait for the Ellen to call you up: You can actively spread your content at the beginning, perhaps emailing a gathered list of prospective customers, or using sites like LinkedIn to create connections and spread the content.
3. Invite users to submit feedback on the service and to join your company on these social networking sites

You can then make a better informed decision on your expansion, and save money. While creating great content and managing your initial web-marketing activities are not cheap, it still stands well behind the cost of a mismanaged and ill-informed move abroad.

It is vital to have in place a cohesive search engine optimisation, pay per click and Analytics plan when deciding to export. You need to make sure your site appears on search engines to create awareness. Also, when dipping your foot into another market, Analytics tools are critical to measure your results and plan from there.

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As a proud Corkonian, I would like to say at this point that Crystal Swing, and the views held by the group in no way represent the people of Cork!

WebResults ‘connects’ with Connector Digital and Social Media Training

The WebResults team are always interested in ‘connecting ‘ with new ideas and techniques in the internet marketing field. I attended the Connector Digital and Social Media Training course yesterday. The course was given by Connector founder Conor Lynch, along with some great guest speakers.

Connector is interested in Connecting people online and offline. Connector organises popular networking events each month themed around an aspect of social media.

The training was hinged on the Connector 10 C’s. It was a concept that made creating a social media strategy for business a more accessible one. Conor detailed through case studies and theory how to run a successful campaign.

In addition to this, a number of great guest speakers were involved. Aaron Downes discussed creative development in social media. Thomas O’Duffy gave advice and answers to the participants on their social media presence and also discussed the importance of peer influence on trade. Greg Fry, a careers coach provided ten top tools to companies available online.