Is social media a necessity?
It’s imperative for all businesses to have a strong internet presence for several reasons, including the ability to “be found” in a cyberspace “sea” that is flooded with competition.
Brands need to “show up” and be present to have opportunities to insert themselves in their communities through conversations that may take place with existing customers and/or prospective customers.
For when the time comes in which a need for your product or service arises, you will be remembered if you shared your story in a manner that was relatable. Keep in front of those prospects and you will be sure to receive referrals.
Social media is the quickest and easiest way to get the word out about your offerings, including any special niche you may serve others!
Can social media be bad for a business?
At times, we hear objectives from business owners that feel that social media is negative, due to experiences with reviews.
It is important to handle these inquiries with care.
Typically, negative reviews take place for a few reasons and it is imperative that the owner, business manager, marketing manager, or communications specialist tasked with receiving first notification of these reviews understand why the review took place in order to understand what strategy to utilize regards to responding to the review, if at all.
The reasons a negative review took place include a business did not provide a satisfactory service or the product was not what was expected and the customer voiced concerned and did not feel he or she was heard, a customer was dissatisfied and did not voice concerns taking to the internet his or her experience or aggravation because he or she did not have the skills to try work through the conflict, and lastly he or she has a track record of complaining online and creating drama because the customer may be struggling with this thing we called life.
As you can see it is important to understand where he or she is coming from to make a resolution. In most cases, the customer wants to be acknowledged and be offered something in the form of a compensation for his or her troubles.
Often the customer refuses this but just wants VALIDATED!
Negative review and Trolls
It is important to note that there is a difference between a bad review and a troll. A troll is someone that is negative and is not posting one time negatively in regards to your business. If you have attempted to handle the issue and the individual is harassing you there are many things that you can do when you feel that it may be detrimental to your business which include blocking the individual from your page,
ensuring you have business profanity limits on your page, and extreme cases you may report the individual to the site and you may completely remove all reviews from certain social media platforms.
A learning experience for all!
Additionally, the reviews should be used as learning experiences and opportunities to offer better service and trainings to employees on the front end.
Businesses can benefit more from social media and online reputation management experts whether it be a one time training class or on an ongoing basis to continue to build their brand and drive additional revenue.
For more information, contact Jeannette Magaro of Storytelling Marketing and Consulting at 717-919-2857