The next step to consider is whether you have the TIME to do the job right. In other words, simply creating a Facebook page, uploading pictures from your last event, and writing a post to let everyone know that you have a sale coming up is NOT enough.
- Did you know that 42% of people who complain to a company via social media channels expect a response within one hour?*
- According to this same survey 32% of customers expected a response within 30 minutes!
- Finally, did you know that 57% of people who contacted a business expected the same response time even if the company was contacted after business hours or on the weekends.
Think about it, do you ever see anyone standing in a line anymore (especially at Starbucks) who doesn’t have their phone in hand, texting, surfing, tweeting or posting? We love the technology because it is instant! We’re instant with friends and family . . . and well, apparently people expect instant, or pretty close to instant, with the companies they communicate with.
Also, if someone posts something really negative on a Facebook page or Twitter, and you don’t notice and respond to it in a timely manner, what can that do to your brand reputation?
Are you equipped and willing to do this?
For many of your customers and potential customers, communicating in a social media world is “normal.” They’ve never really known anything else. If you told them how people had to lease apartments back in the “old days” they would laugh...a lot! They may even wonder how you ever survived being in this industry for so long.
I mean, remember when we first got “dial-up?” Remember how AWESOME that was?? Now if a webpage takes longer than 0.2 seconds to load we start to run anti-virus programs and search for malware to make sure everything is okay.
The rules are different in ‘social’ and if you’re going to work in those spaces you need to know what those rules are. I’m not trying to discourage you from pursuing a social media program ... I just want to encourage you to do it right, if you choose to do it.
I attended a keynote given by social media expert Scott Stratten and his book “The Book of Business Awesome” is a must read in my opinion. Someone in the audience asked him what social media sites he should focus on and Scott’s answer was (paraphrasing), “Only the ones you can do right. You’re better off not being on social if you can’t do it right.”
Of course the answer isn’t to just ignore social media completely~and I am not advocating that! Social media gives you a whole new way to connect with people who may never fill out a contact form on a website. This is a very good thing!
I’ll say it again, if you’re going to do it, then do it right. Make sure you have the right people and are realistic about the time commitment needed to do it right.
Now it's your turn! How have you prepared your company to do social media right?
Source: *http://www.convinceandconvert.com/the-social-habit/42-percent-of-consumers-complaining-in-social-media-expect-60-minute-response-time/
(A modified version of this article originally appeared in Multifamily Insiders.)