Don't leave your customers alone in Social Media

If you have not admitted yet or will never, it does not matter at this point, Social Media is mainstream and here to stay!  When asked "why social media" you can mention these stats:

• Time spent on social networking sites increased 277% in 2009.
• Web users are 51% more likely to buy from your brand if they follow you on Facebook
• And are 60% more likely to recommend your brand
• Twitter served 10 billion Tweets
• Web users spends 6 hours a month with social media (and growing)
• “If you dislike change, you’re going to dislike irrelevance even more” ( Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki)
• 18% of all new content found online, is found through social media
• 70% of Internet users reported “trusting” consumer opinions posted in social media
• 86% of companies in the largest 100 of the Fortune 500 use social media
• Google cares about your social network

*stats from Social Media Explorer

So, why would you leave your customers alone to talk with your competitors when you should be the one they are talking with, purchasing your goods or services and willing to share with others.  The key to Social Media is to develop an interactive strategy that evokes conversations. You must now think of yourself as a publishing and production company utilizing content and images to convey and converse your brand story.

                                                  "Oh, I just have to post a pic or two"  

         "Whats the big deal, anybody can do that!"  

                           "We get it, just look at the number of our followers"

These are regular comments I receive regarding social media.  Sure, give me the Domino's pizza account, who could not get 100k fans.  But to keep them engaged, willing to share and make purchases is the ultimate test of social media strategy.