In 2011, we called ourselves a “Social Media agency.”
In 2012, we pivoted to call ourselves a “Social Business Agency.”
Why did we do it?
Conversation Shift
We did it because “Social Media agency” limited the conversations we were having. It always fell back into a talk about the newest Facebook feature or how to get more followers on Twitter. These conversations do virtually nothing to move the needle. We saw that and changed our branding to allow for a richer conversation about customer behavior and how social tools can be used to accomplish business objectives.
It’s EVERYWHERE
Today, we see an incessant flow of noise in our newsfeeds, on our televisions, in our print ads and on our radios. Everyone is screaming about Social Media, everyone is obsessed with the newest shiny thing. This month it’s Pinterest, in a month it’ll be something different. Rather than playing whack-a-mole trying to keep up with the “latest and greatest,” why don’t more of these conversations talk about what’s important to us, as customers?
A Challenge: Shift your conversation
If you are a business, stop talking about Social Media. Start asking different questions.
Instead of asking your consultant or marketing department:
What’s our Facebook strategy?
Ask:
What is upsetting our customers? Can we do anything to fix it?
What have we done lately to delight our best customers?
Who are the customers that we haven’t heard from in a while? Are we in danger of losing them?
What are people saying about us? What can we do to improve?
Are we missing out on opportunities for partnerships with other businesses?
Are we missing out on doing something amazing for our customers simply because there is no direct revenue opportunity for us?
Different questions = Different Answers
Asking different questions will undoubtedly lead to different answers, and in some cases will give you better answers to the questions you probably wanted to ask. You want to know your Facebook strategy? First find out what your customers want or need. You might be surprised that when you put your customers first in your thinking that you’ll be much more effective in using a tool like Facebook to activate them.
2012 is the year of Social Business
No more nonsense.
Take this year to be bigger than the obvious conversations.
Take this year to go deeper than the buzzwords, bypass the talk about hot, new channels and focus on what’s always been important…your customers.