Are you likable?

So you're like innumerable other brands and businesses with a Facebook fan page in their social media arsenal. Good for you, it's a step in the right direction. But, only if you're doing it right.

• Do tell a story.
• Don't broadcast.
• Do be friendly.
• Don't ignore feedback.
• Do be personable.
• Don't try to control the conversation.
• Do contribute to the conversation.
• Do be transparent.
• Don't forget to post content.
• Do be honest.
• Don't automate content.
• Do take action when you can.
• Don't waste the time of your fans.
• Do say thank you.
• Don't forget your manners.

Yes, you're a business, but you're a person or people first. We're inherently social, so be a person when engaging and curating content that is valuable to your fans. Make it worth their while to like your fan page. Keep them coming back for more!

Anatomy of a Social Customer

The widespread adoption of social media has altered the way customers are communicating with businesses and has facilitated the shift of a business-centric marketplace to a customer-centric one. Your once static patrons have become dynamic social customers. This new breed of customer is shaping and more often then not, leading the way we market our businesses, products and services.

Are you aware of the defining characteristics of Social Customers?

• They are hyper-connected - The smartphone or internet-ready device is the constant companion of this audience. The Social Customer treats a smartphone more like a pocket computer then a phone.
• They readily reach out to peers and influencers - Social media give customers wide spread access to the opinions and experiences of their family and friends, people they trust. Let's be honest, people care about what others think and certainly like to draw upon the past experiences of those they know. So if three of their friends tell the Social Customer they love a particular product, the customer may be a bit more inclined to buy it.
• They are constantly researching - Review sites like Yelp, Trip Advisor, Google Places, etc., offer customers the opportunity to voice their praises and complaints of a product, service or business for future customers to read and evaluate. The good, the bad and the ugly about past customers' experiences is available for research and review.
• They are share what they think of you - It's not uncommon for Social Customers to use the very sites where they researched your business to also trumpet their thoughts about your business. The beauty of many of these tools is the fact that you can respond to these questions, comments and concerns quite expediently. If a Social Customer lodges a complaint via social networks and review sites, you can respond accordingly, too.
• They expect brands to engage them - Due to the real-time nature of social media and the precedent set by many businesses of near instant response to customer feedback, many Social Customers are expecting the same of all brands they patron. They want the information and response they desire when they want it.
• They control the purchasing cycle - The business no longer tells the customer when it's time to buy, the customer tells the business when they're ready to buy. When groups of Social Customers have the ability to band together online in favor of or against a product or service, that collective voice has strong influence over a their extended network of influence. If a large enough group finds disfavor with your product or service, watch out! It could be catastrophic to the life cycle of that product or service.

Keep in mind, these are general characteristics. Each industry and sector will have niche demographics specific to its audience. Don't let this untethered communication access get the best of you. Focused research, a strong strategy and a dedicated effort on the part of the business will assist with interacting with the Social Customer at the speed of social media! The way we communicate with current and potential customers has been revolutionized. Social customers are at the helm and businesses need to have their proverbial finger on the pulse of what's driving their audience.

What strategy have you developed or steps are you taking to learn about the characteristics of your Social Customers?

Social Media: Rules of Engagement

Every social media professional will guarantee you that their "rules of engagement" are the best. If you boil it down to the nuts and bolts all prescribed rules are basically the same repackaged core principles. I've combed the web and assembled my favorites.

1. Be Transparent. Your honesty (or dishonesty) will be picked up right away in social media communities. (src: www.marketlikeachick.com)
2. Embody the attributes you wish to portray and instill – operate by a code of conduct. (src: www.briansolis.com)
3. Listen before you talk. (src: www.usemyhead.com)
4. Stay relevant. (src: Charlene Li, author of Groundswell)
5. Keep the conversation going. (src: www.britopian.com)
6. There's not much, if any room, for automation in social media. (src: blog.webdistortian.com)
7. If somebody goes out of their way for you in social media make sure you reciprocate the gesture. (src: www.kunocreative.com)
8. Travel with your networks. Go virtually with your friends, followers, subscribers, etc on their adventures...take part in their lives via social networking. (src: me. I like to "do life" with the people I engage with.)
   
9. Be cautious. Protect yourself and your privacy. (src: www.talentzoo.com)
   
10. Always, without hesitation, say thank you. Show gratitude even in the simplest of scenarios. It goes a LONG way. (src: common sense)

Pack light, virtual travel doesn't require a lot of baggage.
Did I miss anything you think should have been included?

What to be and what not to be? That is the Social Media Question.

Practically speaking, social media platforms are designed to be communication forums. Communication is an interactive, two-way, organic process. If it's forced, it's obvious; if it's natural, it can produce modicums of trust and insight that can eventually manifest phenomenal relationships with time. Here's the real kicker, investing time and building relationship can be fun. Yes, fun and rewarding.

To reap the rewards of natural communication, I'd recommend the following:

• Listening
• Learning
• Conversing
• Sharing
• Researching
• Following
• Investing
• Trusting
• Relating
• Acknowledging
  
• Doing
• Engaging
  

In reading this list, you should notice a common theme...did you catch it? These are all verbs, that require action on your part as the person behind the tweets, podcasts, updates, whatever form of content generating you are doing. This list involves organic engagement on your part.

If however, you're not a fan of engagement and wish to alienate those persons that could have potentially followed, become a fan or friend, subscriber or any other term that indicates them as consumer of your content, than try this assembly on for size:

• Dismissing
• Ignoring
• Automating
• Refusing
• Assailing
• Boring
• Tiring
  
• Repulsing
• Preaching
• Annoying

Yes, these are all active verbs as well, but the difference... your content is contentious, dry, and impersonal. Sure you'll find some folks that follow, friend, subscribe, etc; but they're usually a carbon copy of what you're doing. They're other businesses and individuals also pumping out link after link after link, brand blasting, all tools of the marketing and self-promotion machines.

So have you decided that social media is an arena in which you want to engage? Then when you step into that arena, you should do just that, engage. Yes, social media can be a waste of time, but on the other hand, it requires time of those followers, fans, friends, and subscribers. So don't waste their time. Make it worth their while, and yours too.

So, what to be? Be all that you can be, and more.