Do's And Don't's Of Facebook

Posted by Business
By Takara Alexis


The Internet, as a whole, has opened the doors to a varied range of communication possibilities with customers. The interactive characteristic of the medium also makes it possible for a customer to broadcast his response to a vast audience. Social networking sites, particularly Facebook, which are getting increasingly popular around the world, have given customers an equal opportunity to communicate as loudly as you about your brand, in a public forum open to the whole world.

On the brighter side, there is a great opportunity to attain direct and unadulterated feedback from customers, without the requirement of costly and time-consuming surveys and research processes. Directly redressing customer queries on the medium itself can help increase brand loyalty. However, as a brand owner, you must realize the speed and potential of the medium to do good as well as harm.

There are sufficient reasons for a brand to be on one of the most happening mediums. A significant amount of conversation that happens on Facebook, or for that matter on other social platforms like Twitter, references brands, with customer's opinion toward these clearly seen through them. Social media marketing can produce raw information that has not been spun, modified, or adulterated.

The fact is that whether you are there on Facebook, it's very likely that someone or another from your customer base might be mentioning you. Your brand presence during such a situation is critical to either thank the customer for any praise or gracefully respond and address any grievances posted by the customers and win back their confidence in your brand.

On a proactive note, sustained brand presence on Facebook also helps you create your own group of customers, including those interested in you. This gives you one point access to disburse any firsthand brand data in a single click, without paying out a cent more. Today, brands - both little and big - have a presence on Facebook. Many of them utilize it with more innovation than the rest.

Established marketers are used to broadcast, which is a formal means of communication, where customers' voices are barely heard back. Coming from this training, many a time, marketers find it hard to modify and converse in the language demanded by social networking sites, which are much informal in nature.

There have been instances where brand owners trying to insist upon rules and guidelines of discussion on Facebook fan pages have faced the instantaneous wrath of users, which had a negative impact on the brand. The moral from this is very clear, the brand must try to avoid any mistakes on Facebook; marketers must know the responsiveness and energy levels of the users and be one among them, rather than one above.

For every horror story of a brand mess up on Facebook, there are many cases of triumph, where even small household brands have grown in reputation through effective use of the medium. Two golden rules to be followed while using Facebook and social media marketing in general, which can yield good results in the long run, are as follows: Do not be a big brother - be a cheerful friend to your consumers. The big brother attitude, which worked fine in standard media, can hurt your brand on Facebook.

Any showdown of brand arrogance or one-upmanship is given a harsh response by its customers in the same medium. For a brand to succeed, it has to be a friend, who is entertaining to speak with. Do not advertise, converse - Blatant advertising, or use of social networks for constant spamming with interruptive advertising, is a sure recipe for disaster. You will find your brand page getting cut out on Facebook.

There are many ethics to be obeyed with Facebook and social media marketing, which can be easily grasped through active participation in the medium itself. A company must ensure that its trained representatives have a noticeable presence on Facebook and social networking avenues as true online custodians for the brand. For many companies, it also makes sense to employ an agency that is experienced in handling brand reputations on Facebook and online avenues, both to get more visitors and generate more revenue.




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