Yesterday’s post was my rant on the basic human need to feel loved 🙂 and many retailers are avoiding that need by not making it standard policy to greet each and every customer. I know, you say it’s policy and that by now, everyone knows this and encourages the basic hello…but trust me, it’s not. Try mystery shopping and see what happens.
Social media, while it feels different because of the perceived distance between people communicating with one another…isn’t. When I see a tweet for example, that you’ve posted and I reply to you…I’m trying to strike up a conversation with you.
A few weeks ago, I tweeted a congratulations to a store for their recognition as a cool store. They ignored me! No reply. Nothing. My need for feeling loved was not met.
Social media is about engagement and connecting with people who have an interest in you (you can tweet that quote if you want). It’s interactive, and it’s precisely the interactiveness that provides the benefit. The interaction enables you to make deeper connections with the people who care about you.
Ever want to ask fellow jewelers about their experience with a particular product? Tweet it and wait for a response. Want to know if your customers like your new packaging? Post the question on Facebook and wait for a reply. Or better yet, considering changing your packaging? Take some photos of the options and post on your FB page, take a survey, garner feedback…directly from the people who matter! What could be better?
This really can be fun, and in my opinion it should be.
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What I’m finding are a lot of businesses that have blinders on. They tweet and post and don’t really care what you have to say. In fact, look at the posts and tweets of many small businesses and you’ll see for yourself what I mean. Posting about how great you are or your sales (or any one-way sales message for that matter) does not encourage engagement.
It needs to feel authentic and transparent to be believed to be more than sales.
In closing, watch what people are saying about you and have the courtesy to reply. Strike up a conversation with people who follow you or that you have friended. Be genuine, and for goodness sake, people don’t just copy and paste information from another person’s tweet or post to make it look like it came from you. Give credit where credit is deserved: retweet, respect and reply.
Don’t treat social media relationships any differently from how you would treat a person in the flesh…and everyone will benefit.
