What is Social Media all About?

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Posted on Mon 20 Sep 2010 13:05

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Since the early days of the Internet companies have been exploring how they can promote their businesses.  It took a long time to catch on and is only truly becoming an absolute necessity for companies to have a web presence in the last few years.  The first place that people look to check up on a company is their website these days.

However what other people say about you is always far more important than what you say about yourself.  From the days of the corner shop companies have had a reputation whether good, bad or mediocre based on how they interact with their customers.  It can only take one disgruntled customer to sully the reputation and for it to spread like wildfire.  Monitoring what people are saying about you is a key way of being able to protect yourself, repair the damage and turn a negative into a positive.  Social Media is rapidly becoming the best way to do this. 

Since we first started building websites I have always recommended to our customers to maintain a dialogue with their clients and to keep them informed of what is happening.  Basically treat your customer in the same way that the good old corner shop would look after theirs.

Social Media is now offering opportunities to engage with your customers and even potential new customers in a wide variety of ways. Facebook has more visitors per day than Google.  With Facebook you can engage in two way conversations with people.  Get their feedback and answer questions.  An even more direct way of talking with people is through Twitter.

Over the next few days I will be explaining the nature of Social Media, the pros and cons of Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In and which are best for what purpose.  

Now is the best time to get engaged and start talking with not just your customers but your suppliers as well.  Go on what are you waiting for?  Get engaged!

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