Create value with social interactions (+ funny faces?)!
In addition to making funny faces and dancing like a fool to Canned Heat by Jamiroquai, I talk about creating value by interacting.
People need people. Social interactions with your customer or fan base, whether online or offline, are vital opportunities to build your brand.
Maybe you legitimately don’t have the time to keep up with all your fans or customers … but don’t be too big to interact with at least some of your followers!
Interaction can make all the difference in the world … even if it’s just a little reply. I’m going to go over two quick examples.
One celebrity made it a practice to read all of the tweets about her. Even though she couldn’t reply to every single one, she still took the time to make several at replies on Twitter and even video responses.
People would reply back to her with things like: “OMG, I can’t believe you replied to me … you just made my day!”
Regardless of whether you’re a company or a celebrity/person, your interactions can have an impact.
For the second example, here’s a personal experience I had with a company, Staples.
I mentioned them in a status update on Twitter (StaplesTweets) … in particular, that I bought an office chair from them. I started following them on Twitter; then, they followed me back and sent a Direct Message … but it wasn’t a canned response. It was actually personalized and took into consideration that I purchased a chair from them: “Thank you for the follow – we hope you enjoy the new chair.” The person’s initials were included at the end of the message.
This shows that even big companies can take the time to interact with their customers!
Try not to be too busy for your customers or fans. Listen to what they have to say about you or your company; this way, you can get a pulse or feel for what’s on their minds.
You may not always be able to reply to every single remark or read through every single e-mail, tweet, etc., but at least take the time to make a difference! It can make an impact. (Repetition for emphasis)
Create a community around your brand.
We’re living in the age of communication, so use this to your advantage. In addition to e-mail and social networks like Twitter, take advantage of video. There are video messages, video responses on YouTube, and video streaming/broadcasting sites, just to name a few.
Videos are a very powerful means of creating a personal connection. Instead of sending a blanket e-mail response back with text or words on the screen, your viewers can see your facial expressions, gestures, etc. (If you’re handsome or pretty, you have the added “bonus” of people developing an increased unhealthy obsession with/crush on you.)
Use live video broadcasts to interact with your followers. Examples of video streaming sites include Justin.tv or Ustream (Ustream, Istream, we all stream for … ok, enough of the jokes).
How are you interacting and creating value?
