My new friend, John Jantsch at Duct Tape Marketing, wrote a great blog post today titled, “Why Social Media Doesn’t Matter Anymore“.
He states, “We don’t need social media tools, social media plans, or social media departments, we need marketing strategies and tactics that are informed by a terribly heightened customer expectation…. offline activity is enhanced, rather than replaced, by online activity.
Prospect engagement matters: If we’ve learned one thing over the last year or two, it’s that prospects are drawn to the ability to interact with the companies, brands, and messages that they choose to absorb.
Customer experience matters: A remarkable customer experience is the most effective form of lead generation.”
Folks, all social media does is hold a microphone up and amplify the experience your customers are having when they are in your establishment or interacting with your sales people. Platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter allow your customers word-of-mouth testimonials to ripple further out into the viral stream and work in (or against) your favor.
Before you worry about how to get 1,000 Facebook Fans, concentrate on getting your house in order:
- Are your customers having a quality experience when are they with you?
- Do your customers leave your presence feeling educated, satisfied and/or valued?
- Does your website reflect who you are as a business? Does it inform your customers and prospects? Is it easy to use and navigate?
If you can get the above components right. Social media can catapult you miles above your peers. If you can’t provide a quality experience on the ground – no Facebook Fan Page will save your business.
About this blog: Gangway Advertising is a Dallas-based marketing firm and social media agency. Our specialty is working with companies to create marketing strategies and solutions that allow your business to compete at any level in the marketplace. We specialize in making small companies seem bigger. The posts within this blog are written to show you that social media and marketing is affordable, achievable and should not be ignored! No budget is too small and no idea is too big. Bring it on.