Now that you have seen an example of why you need to keep your audience engaged, I am going to show you a few tools you should be utilizing to stay connected.
One such tool, is Twitter. Based on my own experience, there seem to be a lot of skeptics out there as to the usefulness of Twitter. However, Twitter is in fact very useful, as discussed in this article from flyte new media. In this article, the author talks about how you can use Twitter to promote your business by first explaining how Twitter works and then how you can make it work for you. The author also includes three guidelines of etiquette, that can be used for all social media, towards the end of his article that are something you should stick to.
Another great tool that has really grown over the past couple of years is Facebook. I’m sure many people think that Facebook is just something a lot of college students use to waste time. It is much more then that though. Facebook can now be used to connect with literally millions of people. If you are a business then you should have a Facebook profile. You can find people who may be interested in your business and easily interact with them. You can post information about your business and let others comment on what you are doing as a business. This is a great opportunity for feedback and for letting your customers know you are listening to them. In this article from Relativity: Business Technology Solutions, the author briefly describes how you can setup your own Facebook account and then utilize it to get more exposure.
Finally, if you are using Twitter or maybe a blog of your own, then you should consider having your own RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed. The way RSS works is, you have the link on your blog or Twitter for others to click and by doing so they will receive updates via some sort of online reader such as Google Reader. If the idea of RSS still doesn’t make sense to you then check out this video from CommonCraft for some clarification.
Hopefully now you are already using or considering using some of these tools. In my next post I’m going to be career specific in how you can use audience analysis in the photography profession.
I was a skeptic of Twitter when I first learned about it, but that was because i was looking at it from the wrong point of view. Now i see that it can be a very useful tool for corporate communicators. You can easily tweet about a press announcement or a new product. It gets the news out there and tempts people to look for more, for example on an online newsroom site. Also, Facebook is no longer just for posting pictures and making friends. I did an advertising campaign with a few classmates last Fall and we set up our client with a Facebook Fan Page. It was a great way to get the name out there and to lure in new volunteers.
I know some companies might wonder why they should have a facebook or twitter when they already have a company website. I remember reading somewhere that having a facebook or twitter is a good way to connect with your publics, where they already are. Go to where your customers are already spending most of their time. So like most college students, that spend plenty of time on Facebook, a company could just have their own page that could link to their website or blog, and have open conversations.
I agree with what Leslie said about the changing dynamics of Facebook. It used to be a site solely for college students to meet each other and match up interests. However, now it can be used as a business tool. Whenever a company has a Facebook that consumers can refer back to, you know they care about starting a relationship with their stakeholders. This is a very positive and proactive step for a company to make. I also agree that twitter and digg have values separate from personal use and companies should start utilizing them more as well.
I think businesses are “on the ball” now with new social media tools. Over the summer, worked for Roanoke County Parks and Rec marketing/ PR department. We wanted me to setup a fan club/ profile page using Facebook. It was a hit and now they can connect with thousand and post up coming events with just a click. I was new to Twitter before SMAD 341 but over winter break they asked me to create and maintain a Tweeter account, but not familiar I say no. Businesses are slowly getting use new social media possibilities. RSS will create a niche community for viewers and companies that will revolutionize the information sharing process.