The Import In Responding

People often ask me what I believe to be the most critical element of social media. That isn’t a tough question for me. While several integral elements combine to form a successful social media launch, at the absolute top of my list is the response – your response. How quickly, accurately, and consistently you respond to user engagement.

Why? Because at the end of the day, SM is really about relationships. It’s you building a relationship with those who are interested in your brand.

You throw out a post, a special, a promotion, an announcement, whatever. Great. Look at you, your team is getting your information out to your followers! But here’s the thing, when Susie McCustomer in Clientsville Arkansas reads your post and comments on it, your response to her is exceptionally critical! It’s actually more critical than the original post on which she commented.

Let’s use an analogy because I tend to love analogies. Consider social media the new telephone.

Would you ignore a call from a customer or client? No. You’d answer or call back. SM is your new telephone and the only difference is that now, when you “answer the phone”, it’s public for the entire world to see, hear, and critique your response. So be on track, be concise, be genuine, be consistent, and most of all be timely with your responses to user comments, reviews, posts, etc.

After all, it’s called social media. Not one way media. Or even push media. It’s social, so be social and be responsive.

Thanks for reading my 60 Second Social post.