The key to success with social media

Social media is all the rage these days. Are your clients and prospects doing social media right?

In the past week while traveling, I saw two great examples of companies doing social media right. On my Delta flight from Miami to Atlanta, I noticed fog billowing out of the vents as we were taxiing to the runway. I tweeted a picture and asked if there was cause for concern. Before we made it to the runway (literally 2 minutes), someone at Delta responded, “??@DeltaAssist to @JeffreyASchmidt? -- Hi Jeff! No concern at all. Actually, the white vapor you see is the combination of the cold air & heat mixing. *KM.” It was probably just a coincidence, but immediately after that exchange the flight attendant made an announcement saying the same thing in almost exactly the same words.

Upon arrival in Atlanta, I checked into the Hyatt downtown. Entering the room, I noticed something unusual on the large flat screen TV: “Welcome Jeff Schmidt!” I’ve checked into lots of hotels and I’ve never experienced that. I tweeted a picture and told Hyatt I thought it was a nice touch! Again, within minutes, a response: “?@HyattConcierge to ?@JeffreyASchmidt? -- We are happy to welcome you! Have a wonderful stay. – AE.”

A recent article in Social Media Today asked the question: “Are You Wasting Your Time on Social Media?” They shared three ways to stop wasting social media time:

1. You don’t need to be on every social media platform.
2. Don’t link your accounts and post the same content everywhere.
3. You don’t have to tweet to be on Twitter, but you do have to respond.

With notification settings, it’s relatively easy to make sure you are aware when someone tweets about you. I’ve made sure my settings are correct. If your clients have a social media presence, but they are not responding when someone tweets about them, they are missing opportunities to engage with and impress their customers. The key to success with social media is be responsive; be social. Even complaints are an opportunity to engage and delight your customers.

Delta and Hyatt impressed me with their responsiveness. Can you help your local advertisers be equally impressive?