There is no doubt that companies today are present in the world of social networks and many of them pay large amounts of money hiring a social networks staff. This is an undeniable indicator that the wind blows in that direction and that we'd better set our sails that way, taking advantage of the wind's current.
I would like to tell you about 5 areas that you can cover with social networks. Now, before immersing ourselves in each of them I would like to define well cover. By cover, I don't mean that you have to remove all the areas of your company and let social networks do everything. By cover, I mean that all of your company's areas should be working directly with the social networking area so they can also express themselves through them and get the most out of the company.
The 5 areas they can cover are:
1.- Public Image
I think that no one can deny that having a social network means that the company should always publish based on the image and the name of the company. So make sure that your logo is always in accordance with your colors, your typography and that it's a logo with the right definition. Nowadays, the different pages that you have in social networks, have become what used to be a company's letterhead. Don't let misunderstood creativity or negligence change your identity. Remember that your logo is not just another drawing, it's the personality of your brand. For this reason, make sure that everything you publish, always, shows your company's signature, one that matches its personality.
2. Customer Service
Your social networks are also an great area for the direct reception of the feelings of your customers. You can hire companies to carry out surveys at local, national and even international level about what your company is like, the quality of your products/services, the attention they receive as clients ... But if you really want to know if your clients are happy, if your customers have had a bad experience, if any of your products/services are good or bad, it's as simple as reading the comments they leave on your publications, those that they write directly to you, even the way they rate your company on social networks -and why.
Make sure that whenever a client writes a comment or expresses an opinion about your company or product/service, you respond immediately. Apologize if there was any problem or thank him for his observation or comment. That's the best way to give proper service to a client who is asking for things be done at the moment (hic et nunc), in fact, it's your chance to respond to it immediately, just as they did with you.
3. Public Relations
You can also use social networks as an area where you can:
- Congratulate outstanding clients
- Make open invitations to your events
- Show which activities you have carried out to become a better company and a socially responsible company. You can even create viral news based on some good act that your company did. There's no need for you to tell the press, if it goes viral, it will be displaying everywhere. (Warning! the same can happen if your company behaves poorly and it goes viral; public relations can be strongly affected by this).
4. Marketing
Digital marketing is a whole issue and a growing tool. Social networks are part of this marketing, which you can use to increase your sales. Although social networks are not the selling point at where transactions are made, they are still an excellent way to get your products/service known by your potential customers. You can also take them to any of your website's pages and get their contact information. By doing so, your customers will start an online sales relationship with your sales executives.
5. Advertising
With the inclusion of thousands of people in social networks, it's obvious that it becomes an excellent niche for your advertising, you can even launch your advertising campaigns according to an specific target market and the geographical area that better suits your service/product. So you should take advantage of this tool in order to advertise or to launch loyalty campaigns, discount coupons, activities. Never before could so much publicity be done with such a little budget. It's time to take advantage of social networks and advertise your company!
Tu sum things up...
Social networks can become more than just a social area for your business, they can be also be used:
- So your customers have you always on their mind
- So that people identify your brand as soon as they see your logo
- To meet the number one reason for your company's existence: your customers
- So that people understand that you are not only interested in money but that you are also a company that's interested in the ecological or social-benefit sphere
- To be able to increase your sales and to advertise yourself.
You can't obviously do it all at the same time (although you can launch different campaigns that cover those areas), but you can eventually fill your social networks with information from the different areas of your company in order to achieve your objectives.
And best of all, at such an affordable cost that it doesn't matter if you're a small company, this tool allows you to compete against larger companies. It all depends on the effort that you make in your social networks.
