Is Facebook right for your business?

In my role at Main Street Webworx, I have the opportunity to work closely with different business clients to develop a strategy, launch and even maintain social media applications for a broad range of clients. I feel fortunate to help them utilize these for both SEO purposes and to develop more engaging relationships with their customers.

Still, even though we talk constantly about the benefits that social media, specifically what having a Facebook Business Page can bring to a business, it is important to remember that taking this leap may not be the best move for every type of business. 

Take United Airlines for example… Have you ever visited their Facebook page?  Sure, there are a few nice things said about the airline, but overall the posts point out failures in customer service, errors with tickets, delays, anger, and mostly negativity.  It begs the question of whether or not certain companies should “go social.”  Is Facebook helping United and its brand image? I’m not so sure…

The most important thing a business must realize when deciding whether or not it will launch a Facebook page is: It’s all about building community and interacting with your customers

Facebook does a pretty good job of spelling this out in its “Facebook for Business” information page. In fact, in the “how to” build a business presence with Facebook it states:

Step 2: Talk to your customers - "Post regularly to develop deeper relationships with your customers and create an engaging community. Give your Page an authentic and consistent voice, and encourage people to like and share your posts."

The main point I’m trying to share is that if you aren’t prepared to have dialogue with your fans – i.e. take the tough questions with the positive praise – it might not be the best move for your business. Facebook is a much more “personally driven” social media outlet than Twitter, YouTube, etc.and it is just that – social. It was and is intended to be used to create conversation and a sense of belonging, i.e. community.

Overall, any business should ask themselves the following before launching a Facebook business page.

1. Will it help my business?  Will customers see it as an opportunity to learn, connect, or even be rewarded? Or, will it end up like the United Airlines page and just – very vocally – reinforce the shortcomings customers feel your company has? If there’s a chance it’s the latter, maybe Facebook isn’t for you.
2. Am I willing and able to create dialogue with my customers, even on tough topics? Your customers will see your presence on Facebook as an opportunity to connect with you quicker and more directly. They will want to interact with you and will expect you to do the same.

 So, I’ll ask again… Is Facebook right for your business?

Looking for ways to improve your business or increase sales? Ask your customers!

Like many of our clients, Main Street Webworx is a small business serving other small businesses. Because of this, I feel it’s important to share information that goes beyond the scope of web design and online marketing. We are first and foremost committed to the success of our clients, as well as the flourishing of Greenville and Upstate SC. So, we’d be remiss to not share a little bit of what we learn along the way with you!

A few months ago, I listened to a great webinar by John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing.

As the world becomes increasingly technological – moving further into the virtual world, every business is actively looking for ways to continually improve. At Main Street Webworx, we frequently ask ourselves how we can do a better job for our clients. We evaluate our processes, procedures, abilities, services, and how well we are delivering on our core message in order to grow our business.

 The Burning Question: How?
 The Answer: Ask your customers.

After each and every customer experience, you and your business have the opportunity to both ensure client satisfaction and gather high-quality insights applicable to both your marketing and your processes. Even better, you’ll gather quotes and testimonials which you can share with prospective clients. What should you ask? Below are some of the best questions out there:

 1. What made you decide to hire us?
 2. What’s one thing that we do better? What did you like most about the experience?
 3. How can we improve?
 4. Would you be willing to refer us?
 5. If you were looking for our company, what would you “Google”?

Beyond gathering great insights, taking the time to reach out to your clients provides an added-level of client devotion, leading to more highly engaged customers. Meaning customers that are more likely to tell their friends and colleagues about you, and who are more likely to refer your business. Everyone appreciates a little extra attention and the value found in their opinion. You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.

This tip doesn’t just apply to new businesses either! Regardless if you’ve been in business for 20 years and have never conducted this type of client survey, it’s never too late. Create a plan and start boosting both your client experience and your business.

Unified communications can benefit your business

I’ve been hearing and reading a lot lately about “unified communications” – what it can do for me, how great it is, how it saves me money, and so on and so forth… And I realized that this is yet another term that many technology savvy people assume is widely known. In turn, they take this for granted when speaking with your every-day, main street consumer or business person. That being the case, I decided to do some detective work and explain it more thoroughly to the non-geeks, like myself!

Basically, unified communications (UC) is the integration of various services we use to communicate with one another. By combining real-time and non-real-time services into one sleek user interface – individuals are able to keep better connected and up-to-date with clients, friends, employers, and more. In case you were wondering, real-time services include: telephony, instant messaging, video conferencing, webcasts, and data sharing; while non-real-time services are things like voicemail, email, text-messaging and fax (many times integrated into unified messaging).  Unified communications allows individuals to utilize multiple media types and devices to monitor, update, and communicate.

Are you still with me?  I hope so! I know that last paragraph got a little technical towards the end.  At this point, I’m hoping that you’ve begun to get a clearer picture of what unified communication is. That being said, maybe you’re wondering why it is important to you. Well, the main reason that it’s becoming increasingly important is that UC provides you – a business person – the ability to stay on top of numerous projects and client concerns in a more streamlined manner.

Here are a couple quick examples:

1.  If you need to step out of the office and cannot answer calls, you can set up your voicemail to automatically be converted into text and sent to you in an email (voicemail-to-email).  If you’re like me – you are able to read that voicemail directly from your SmartPhone. How cool is that?!

2.  Another example is utilizing instant messaging or text messaging, rather than a telephone, to speak to individuals within your office, across town or even across the ocean. This manner of communication is quick and to the point – saving time, money, and even the possibility of disrupting workflow.

Overall, unified communication is actually pretty simple and very useful. It is the evolution of how different, changing technologies are increasingly coming together to form the most streamlined and efficient methods of communication. Furthermore, by utilizing new technology – like a VoIP Business Phone System – you are able to more easily integrate your telephone, computer, cellular phone, fax machine, and more – keeping you better connected to your clients in today’s fast-paced society. Read more about the importance of “being connected” in our blog: Attention Small Businesses! Are you connected to your customers?

To put it simply: unified communications can save you time, money, and even help to retain customers by empowering you to act more quickly when necessary. It can make your life easier! And who doesn’t want that? My point exactly