There are a plethora of gurus and ninjas in the social media space, aren’t there? They are early adopters of new social platforms and they can tweet, text and snap at the same time.
But does your company need a ninja? Maybe…or maybe not.
It’s important to be agile and to adapt to new tools and technologies quickly, but those skills are merely the skin of the onion. There are many people that you can hire who can master skills, but when you peel away the layers, what will you find at the center?
These are five skills that will define your business in social media:
1. Empathy
Modern companies must be customer obsessed. Putting your customer first is a nice catch-phrase and it makes for a wonderful mission statement, but you absolutely cannot fake it. You either put your customer first or you don’t. You sincerely want to help them or you don’t.
Customers are human. They have a lot going on in their lives. When they have a problem, they would really like a kind person at your company to listen and understand. Being compassionate towards your customers frustrations doesn’t just make good business, it makes good humans.
Be human.
2. Transparency
When someone has a problem, they will often try to contact you offline via phone or email. If you don’t fix their problem, or you make it worse, they may choose to go public. When they do this, respond.
Respond publicly and honestly.
If you made a mistake, acknowledge it. If your product was disappointing, apologize. And publicly let them know that you will fix it. Complaints on social media are a gift. They provide you with insider information about where your weaknesses are and they allow you to show your human side publicly.
Don’t ignore complaints. Don’t be defensive.
Be honest. Always
3. Responsiveness
When someone asks you a question on social media, respond…quickly. Ideally, you should be responding within the hour. Most companies don’t. Your customers are talking about you and technology allows you listen in. Let them know that you hear them. Help when you can. Take conversations offline when you need to.
Don’t ignore the chatter. Engage in it.
4. Ninja Skills
There they are!
Social media changes daily. New tools pop up. Favorite tools change (or charge). What worked great yesterday may not work at all tomorrow. There is no point in complaining or mourning. This is where you get to be like water and adapt to whatever situation is thrown at you.
The internet will go down. API’s will change. Pay walls will be built. Content will be most important…then images…then video…
Adapt, overcome and mind the gap.
5. Connectedness
Social media lives in many different places within a company. It’s part marketing, part sales, and part customer service.
You have many masters to serve, but at the end of the day, your master is your customer.
You can serve your customers best by working well with every team in your company. Customers aren’t speaking to “someone on your social media team,” they are speaking to the brand. The twitter response IS your brand. Make sure it is a true reflection of what you represent.
Social media has come a long way in a very, very short time. Technology is moving faster than most people can keep up with. The days of Don Draper sitting down to write one catchy headline that wins over customers everywhere are long over. The copywriter isn’t in the drivers seat anymore.
The customer is.
Let them drive…but pave the road for a smooth journey. (tweet this)
