Social Media Mistake

I'm always giving examples of good branding or tips for marketing a company online.  Today I want to talk about a bad example, though.  There is this t-shirt shop down the road that I absolutely love.  I started working with them about 2 years ago and have used them for all my screen printing needs ever since.  Between my designs for Lindenwood University, my church, and referrals to other organizations I have brought them business for over 10,000 t-shirts. (That's a lot of business!)

I recently found them on Facebook and noticed that they did not have a very good social marketing scheme.  The page looks fine, but the content is not updated that often.  I'll cut them some slack because they are a small business and I know that they can not employ a social media marketer full-time.  They do a decent enough job of posting pictures of their recent work and some basic posts about what's happening in the shop. They could definitely do better at supplying content, but it's not too bad.

The area where they go horribly wrong is in connecting with the customer.  I had no idea that pictures of my work were posted on their page for over a year.  All they had to do was tag me or at least tag my organization or church which are public pages.  I could have shared the picture with friends and co-workers much sooner, had I known it existed.  Once I did find it, I wanted to share it with my friends on Facebook.  I posted a link to the t-shirt shop's page and encouraged friends to "like" it, because I really do love working with them.  I went so far as to post a positive review on their page and comment on several pictures, thanking them for their work.

A social media savvy company would respond by thanking me for my business and at the very least "liking" my comments.  This company has been completely silent! It shocks me because, in person, their customer service is beyond parallel. They are extraordinarily accommodating and very friendly.  Because I know them pretty well, I trust that they do care about my business and appreciate my comments.  If I was a new customer though, I would be a little offended by the lack of social media connection.

My encouragement for this company and other small businesses like it is to stay on top of social media. Make sure that you are connecting with the customers that support you.  Dedicate 30 minutes a day to checking social media, posting something new, and responding to other's posts.  This will build your client support and ultimately your business.