Foursquare Benefits for Business

A week ago today was officially Foursquare day. Feel free to head over there and check out all the fun ways they celebrated!

In honor of its one week anniversary, we thought we'd go a little bit in depth on this social media tool that has generated a lot of hype. Why use Foursquare if your a business? What benefits does it hold for you? Here are 4 great answers to those questions.

Consumers Love the Competition: Not only can those on Foursquare share new places and find new hangouts through checking in, but they can also earn points while doing it. They earn badges for being the first to check in somewhere or checking in somewhere the most often. Who doesn't like to gloat about being the mayor of somewhere right?

New Customers at no Cost: All you have to do is add your business to Foursquare and you've opened the door for a whole new group of consumers. While searching for a product or service, your business will then come up in their search and they are now aware of your offerings. Once they are aware you are out their that can then turn into them doing business with you.

Reward Your Customers: Those who check in often and help in supporting your business should be rewarded in some way to show appreciation. Offer coupons, special promotions or give them a shout out. Loyal customers deserve it and they will pay it forward!

Real Time Data: While users of Foursquare are checked in to a certain location they gain access to polls, questionnaires  quizzes, etc. This is a great tool for businesses to gain feedback from their customers.

Social media is all about creating awareness and building a loyal following all while having fun doing it! Foursquare is a great way to create all of that.

What Your Customers Wish You Knew

We came across this article on Social Mouths the other day and just had to share it with all of you as I think it touches on very beneficial points all businesses need to know. We are obviously partial to number 7 (wink wink). Hope you find this as informative as we did!

Do You Know Your Customers? Here Are 10 Things THEY Want You To Know About Them 

• How can you apply that kind of personalization in your communications with your customers?

• How something like this can improve those relationships?

• How can you integrate personalization into your social media strategy?

How well do you know your customers? Do you know them as well as they know your business or brand?

In today’s business economy, sales don’t come as easy as they used to. We deal with a much more educated consumer that wants to become familiar with your product or services as well as your competitors before committing.

And sometimes one small thing you say or do, or don’t… can trigger a new sale or make a customer happy. Or the other way around, of course.

But if you don’t know your customers…

This Infographic by Help Scout (and research by my friend Gregory Ciotti) is not completely related to social media, even better, it reflects some of the things you need to know about your customers way before you jump on social media to start communicating.

If we fully understand these points, it will be much easier to implement a way of communicating with customers, focused on satisfaction. In social media and any other channels.

In other words the formula is: Business goals first, then social media to help you reach those goals

Example

My favorite is #2, Personalization. I remember my dad used to love this particular restaurant. The interesting part to me however, was how the feeling was mutual, the minute he walked in there, everybody from the host, to the waiters to the chef will say hi to him using his name with an automatic smile on their faces. I was impressed and I know for him those details were important.

Start by knowing your customers better

Infographic courtesy of Help Scout. Research by Gregory Ciotti

New Years Resolutions Businesses Should Make in Social Media

Losing weight and getting in shape is a popular resolution for most individuals each year. However ; individual resolutions aren't the only ones that should be made in 2013. Businesses should have them as well to help jump start their New Year and get off on the right foot. Here are 3 social media resolutions businesses should make for 2013:

1. Create more social media focused specials: One of the main reasons customers become a fan of a business on Facebook or follow them on Twitter is to take advantage of special offers. If you haven't taken advantage of this outlet yet, start in 2013.

2. Interact more with your customers: As stated in the Twitter Numbers Game blog posted last week, it's not always about the quantity of people, but the quality. Social media is all about the networking. Start talking to your customers. Offer up surveys about new products and questions about current ones. Encourage them to share their experience with a testimonial and answer any questions they might have. Start building relationships and trust and you'll have customers for life.

3. Post more pictures: Current social media studies show that customers respond more to visuals than words. Show them your products in use or your employees hard at work. Anything that can make your customers get a feel for your culture and what you stand for will help you become more relatable to them.

What resolutions have you made for your business in 2013? We'd love to hear them!

The Twitter Numbers Game

As we spend our days tweeting, retweeting, uploading pictures and interacting with our followers, we dream of the day we can be as successful as the likes of Kim Kardashian. But is a substantial number of followers the real end game for a business? Not necessarily. 

The goal of twitter for businesses is to interact with their customers. To gain their trust and show your commitment to a product or service you create. The more you create valued content, interact with customers, show useful photos and information about your business, the more followers you will receive because they will want to see what you have to say. Creating value and a reason for someone to want to follow you is more important that just trying to up your numbers.

What you should be tweeting about?

1. Special promotions available specifically via social media: This gives customers a continued reason to follow you as these promotions are exclusive.
2. Information about your company: People need to get to know you and what you are all about. Introduce your employees, share the process of creating your product etc. Giving an inside look is a great way to gain trust and rapport. The more a customer can relate to you the more likely they are to stick around.
3. Up and coming products customers would be interested in: Leave people always wanting more. Show them that you are hard at work, listening to their wants and needs. Keeping your name in the front of their mind is very important with the flood of information they receive these days via social media. Always keep them informed of your next steps. 
4. Sharing customer testimonials and pictures relating to your product and business: If a customer takes the time to validate you, show them your appreciation. Share their thoughts. A happy, valued customer is your best marketing tool. 
5. Share Your News: Share your success! Let your followers know about an award you one, an article you're featured in or a milestone you've reached. It's OK to boast every once in awhile. Shout it out loud and be proud!

Most businesses may never reach Lady Gaga status, but if you're  interacting with the right audience and sharing the type of information your audience wants to hear, you will in the end, build the type of following you need. The type of following who will share tour tweets, buy your products, recommend you to others and interact with you on a daily basis. 

This is the type of following we are tweeting for!

Creating a Brand Image That Deserves to be Heard

Creating a successful brand is much more than just a logo or a great advertising pitch. It's cohesively bonding all aspects of design, marketing and campaigning together to create some beautiful music. Developing a successful brand has many different components that need to be focused upon. Doing each of these components well will not only help show consistency and increase your brand image, but it will make your story come to life by creating a vision within your customers minds. 

• Create a logo that is visually appealing and easily recognizable to customers
• Establish a memorable tag line. Tag lines that are easily remembered are short and to the point, humorous or emotional and resonate with the product or service you offer.
• Build a marketing campaign that is parallel to your company's value and mission. Make sure that it is organized as well as carefully planned and executed. A good marketing campaign should be thought out 3, 6 or even 12 months in advance. 
• Employees that represent the company are a very big part of your brand image. They must be customer friendly, helpful and presentable.
• Your website should be up to date at all times so customers are aware of all that is being offered. It should be easy to navigate, useful and eye-catching.
• All social media sites must be active and contain content that is valuable for your customer base

By carrying out all of the above and making sure you are representing all aspects of your brand in a positive way, you are showing your customers that you care about them and your business.Going that extra mile, makes all the difference when it comes to your company being first in your customers mind. You don't want to be just like your competition. Who wants to blend in when they were born to stand out?