What is your advice to small business or big business about incorporating social media into the marketing mix?
Social media lets customers know your business cares. It invites customers into your lifestyle and your world, and subsequently reinforces your brand. In this impersonal age of call centres and corporate mass communication the average customer is craving human interaction. I think social media goes hand in hand with upstanding customer service and I will expand on this: customers just want a human on the other end of the phone, email, blog, podcast and consequently to be able to get a response from a human and to get it rapidly. Social media is a personal touch that can be tailored to suit every business’ marketing strategy and branding. Try something once; just because you decide to start a blog or a podcast doesn’t mean you have to do it forever. I’m about to harp on an old cliché but remember that if even a handful of people become interested in your business because of social media then it was definitely worth it.
