So, You’re on Twitter & Facebook… Now what?

Countless times, I’ve heard good PR folks and cutting-edge ad agencies tell their clients, “You need to be on Facebook (or Twitter, or Ning, or whatever new trendy platform).” So, you sign your business up for Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, MySpace, etc., and you work hard to get fans, friends, and connections.

Let’s say your hard work pays off, and you’ve got 1,000 – or 1,000,000 – fans. That’s fantastic! One million people have cared enough about your business to click a button.

Now what?

Sure, you can reach them in any number of ways – event invites, tweet your special deals, email coupons, write on their walls… But that is really no different than traditional advertising. And if we’re being honest, it is not much different than spam. If there’s one thing we learned about the explosion of “social media,” it’s that the general population – including your existing and potential customers – are not interested in hearing from you when YOU find it convenient.

Let’s back up a bit.

The entire point of social media is to encourage discussion – engage in real conversation with real people. Social media marketing is simply a small part of that, in which real people are having conversation about your business. What is being said about your business is up to those real people, not you. Let me repeat that.

The specific conversation about YOUR business is determined by those very real people that you may not know – not you, not your PR firm, not your ad agency, not even your mom.

When everyone on the web has a platform to say anything they want, you cannot control – or ignore – dissatisfied customers.

Joe six-pack’s blog post (or Facebook update or tweet) of his experience at your business – good or bad – is available for the world to see, and will remain there virtually forever.

So how do you respond to that? Easily. By responding to it. It’s really that simple.

As long as you know where to find those comments, how & when to respond to them, and how to determine if Joe Six-Pack can help bring you more business.

If you are happy with your facebook fan page, your tweets, and your blog, there is no need to change a thing.

But if you want to know what others are saying about you, when & how to respond to online comments, and convince your fans to cheer your brand on a regular basis, consider your social media marketing options, or get in touch with me right now.