So...now what?
Well, one thing I learned from the the young entrepreneurs in Kenya is that they use Facebook to tell stories about their lives. Pretty much the same thing we all do with our profiles. We all post photos of our kids, our birthdays, our vacations, our new cars...everything! We talk to people and comment on their posts. They comment back. So why wouldn't we promote our businesses the same way?
I'm going to use muffins as an example again because I love'em. What can you do if you own a muffin shop? Come up with a new flavor and post it your Facebook page. Get someone to take some nice photos of your store and some of the muffins on the shelf and put it up. Offer a baker's dozen for the price of a dozen. Believe me, I will go in and buy a dozen muffins for a free one. You get the point. You can start being creative with your offers and updates.
The best thing that can happen is a little conversation with a customer. If I loved your muffins so much I'd become a fan and even might post something on your wall (or on my wall) about your muffin shop and how its the best thing to hit planet earth since the invention of the muffin itself. Now, if I post something like this, I'd like to hear back from you. And it doesn't have to be much. Just a "thank you for coming in" will do just fine.
I'm not going to lie, maintaining your Facebook page takes time and effort. It's grassroots marketing on the digital level. Truly. What you put into it, you'll get back. This also means that your business is "all out there". For everyone to see – good or bad.
We've looked at the good. Now what about the bad? This was one of the only questions the young Kenyans had. They told me there are "jokesters" out there who will just write bad things on your wall. This definitely, might possibly, could very well happen. Maybe. But it probably will. As I told them, you can do one of two things:
1.) You can delete the post.
2.) You can hit it head on.
It might seem crazy, but number two is your best bet. Someone is going to go into your muffin shop and have a bad experience. Who knows? Maybe the person at the register is having a bad day. Maybe someone accidentally put salt in the muffins instead of sugar. Maybe the customer was having a bad day and the muffin just wasn't enough to turn it around. So he or she goes back to the office and posts your worst nightmare.
"New muffin place on the corner...worst muffin of my life. Don't go there."
This is an opportunity to turn that customer around. Comment on his or her post, offer them a free muffin or cup of coffee. Ask what was wrong. Get that customer back. Put yourself out there. It's not impossible. Believe it or not, this is the kind of thing that particular customer is looking for. You know your muffins are the best thing on the planet. Don't let one bad experience bring it down.
A good friend of mine became the social media director at a fairly good size business. In the third week she was there, a customer had a bad experience at a particular branch. He immediately posted about how bad it was there and that he didn't want any part of going back. She got wind of this and took action - within 24 hours. She simply asked him what happened, apologized and let him know that they cared very much for his business. He responded immediately as well. He couldn't believe a business that big listened to him and responded to him so quickly. He posted his gratitude, took back what he originally said and even took the time to write a positive email and send it to corporate, which eventually reached the CEO.
Now thats the ultimate turnaround. That guy is probably still telling his friends to go there. There is no advertisement in the world that can make that kind of impression.
In the world of media, the best and biggest form of advertising is, and always has been, word of mouth. Today we live in the digital world, and social media gives everyone the biggest platform the've ever had to say whatever they want. Even on a global scale.
And who knows...they might be commenting about how good their muffin was this morning.
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