It’s about digital marketing,
I hear too often from medium and large corporations that the biggest fear they have with any digital marketing strategy is efficiently using Facebook or any social media platform for that matter; the possibility of receiving negative comments on your Facebook business pages, etc.
Well that’s an interesting idea; Aren’t they saying outright that they expect negative feedback because they don’t believe in their product or because they are concerned about their ability to provide an acceptable level of service to their customer? They consider a digital marketing strategy with social networks to be dangerous for their brand, this is so typical of corporate Fat Cats who operate in a safety net, while collecting their big salaries, but achieving nothing…
So from the beginning they have no faith in your product? So why the hell are they in business or why the hell do they work for an organization they fear? Why not just up your game and go back to basics? OK, I’m sidetracking again.
Or even easier than that, encourages negativitydon’t be afraid of him. After all, it is that negativity that can help them fight for the perfect product or better service; negative comments are from your customers or potential customers, shouldn’t you be listening to (or engaging with) them? Of course they should! That’s what digital marketing is all about.
Marketing has moved into a whole new paradigm of customer engagement (due to many digital marketing techniques), listening, and evolution. Old School Marketing Techniques Aren’t Just Coming Back, They’re Backand to top it off relationships are being forged like never before.
Facebook, for example, has given the opportunity for the first time in history to create a one-to-many and many-to-one communication business platform. A business can market itself to many people at once (such as TV, radio, or even print), BUT Facebook allows many to reply to chat, and not just with you, but with each other.
Not accepting this paradigm shift is not only foolish, but naive. Embrace digital media.
Now let me assume that many of you know how important the use of digital media, and even more so Facebook, is for your business; you’ve set up a Facebook page and started posting content. Great, BUT, you have to get it right! Facebook is about engagement and relationship building, some of you may recognize that concept in brand marketing. Well that’s exactly what it is. It is a platform for you to market your brand, not to tirelessly sell like many do. This is a key part of digital marketing with Social Media.
Let me go back to what prompted me to write this post. I noticed that a fairly large company, in the health niche, posted a comment on Facebook about health insurance (obviously, that’s what they sell after all). Apparently, they were inundated with some negative comments. This is fine, but what they did next was a disaster. And it’s not the first time I’ve seen this done, and it certainly won’t be the last. Instead of reaching out (engaging) with their leads, they commented on the post stating that they had removed some comments due to their nature. EPIC FAIL! especially for a digital marketing business. The only comment they made was to highlight that they censor their content. Doesn’t that make you question their integrity as a company? So the opportunity to engage and potentially gain respect and more clients went out the window; Not only did they not engage (which, by the way, this page rarely does), but they disrespected the potential customer and deleted their comments.
I’m not going to try it on this particular business, I have a close friend whose business does great things on Facebook, but they don’t engage! They miss out on the number one reason why they are digital marketing on Facebook; engagement and building a fan base (customers and potential customers). They regularly post some great pictures, and I always make a comment, but not once has there been a response to my comment! Again, fail! A company must have as a policy to have the last word in ALL comments on Facebook. The worrying point here is that this particular business outsources social media to a so-called expert.
Going back to the moral of the story, use digital marketing strategies especially Facebook for your business, promote your business on Facebook not by advertising but by providing interesting content; and most importantly, CONNECT with your fans! That’s what marketing is all about after all!