Social Media – Your Customers Want You!
The other day Courtney from our research team came across this interesting study:
According to the 2008 Cone Business in Social Media Study, 93 percent of Americans believe a company should have a presence in social media, while an overwhelming 85 percent believe a company should not only be present, but also interact with its consumers via social media. In fact, 56 percent of American consumers feel both a stronger connection with and better served by companies when they can interact with them in a social media environment.
The online survey was conducted September 11-12, 2008, by Opinion Research Corporation, among 1,092 adults comprising 525 men and 567 women 18 years of age and older.
So your audience wants to engage with you – where do you start? Is it a blog, is it a rating & review site, what about twitter, or facebook?
My partner in crime (Robin) also sent this graphic to me a while back, which I think is an excellent illustration from elliance.com showing how a business can utilize the myriad of social media tools to connect with customers.
The marketplace is changing and these numbers reflect the fact that social media is not just for teenagers or a fad for techies. If you want to have a relationship with your customers, it soon (if it hasn’t already) will involve conversations conducted online. Are you ready to embrace this transition?
Excitedly Engaging,
Billie Jo
October 9th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
I feel that what holds companies back is that, as a consumer, I have only myself to confer with when interacting online. If I’m on Facebook, and I want to start a group, I ask myself, “Should I make this group?” and then decide whether or not to do it. If the group ends up being a bad idea, it is only my reputation that is harmed.
Companies, however, have executive teams, employees, even shareholders who all have something at stake when a company makes that bold move into social. That can be such a daunting precipice as to cause inaction. Even once the leap is made, it still takes time and energy to keep those conversations going.
The rewards, however, can be great. More customers, more loyal customers, greater brand recognition, etc. And, of course, a placing in the metaphorical “They GET it” category.