I had an experience that reminded of the importance of engaging in social media for your business' sake. I had taken a sandwich home and after a bite I pulled out a long hair from my mouth, which immediately made me lose my appetite. After I called the shop the next thing I did was open my facebook and post about the negative experience. Later in the day when I looked back at the initial post I saw it had been commented on, liked, shared and so on.
Social media is like the pond, the business is the stone, and the experiences (good or bad) are the ripples that reverberate throughout that pond. Opinions are formed and information is shared. People trust business referrals from their social media sites than they do advertisements from those businesses. Social Media is no longer about chatting with your friends. It’s about driving business. You can either give them something good to talk about or you can be passive to what is being said.
You can quickly and clearly get a message across about your business by using video in social media. Video is more cost effective than radio or print ads and you can use your video indefinitely, posting when and where you want at no additional charge. One way to use video in social media is to have a video testimonial of your customers. Consumers can tell when they’re being fed a well-scripted line. In contrast, they can also tell when a person is speaking on their own accord. By having your customers produce video testimonials, you let them put their feelings and thoughts into their own words. The result is a much more organic video clip that can be utilized in a number of ways. More importantly, viewers will appreciate this openness, and it could help your business develop a greater sense of trust with your prospective customers.
