Every company knows that your customer is the most important part of your business, because without them you wouldn’t be in business.
When social media became popular with the public, companies knew right away that they needed to be on them. The problem is not every company knows what to do once they are on social media platforms.
Originally Facebook company pages were used so fans could stay in touch and connect with their favorite businesses. In return, businesses used them to talk about contests, promotions, sales offers and increase engagement among followers. In 2012, the playing field has vastly changed.
Sure, there are still several business that use Facebook and Twitter to broadcast upcoming events and such, but other companies have found a way to go beyond that. Now companies have expanded their online presence, changing the format of contests to be more interactive and to get feedback about new products.
Toyota has certainly taken advantage of their online presence. They hosted a competition looking for someone to come up with a creative name for the plural of Prius.
Coca-Cola has also listen to customer feedback when they designed their save the polar bears cans. People complained that the silver can resembled Diet Coke too much and Coca-Cola recalled all of their specialized cans.
Another company to learn from is Sharpie, the permanent marker company. Through successful business campaigns they have turned Sharpie into an everyday noun. Their Twitter page is what you can pay close attention to. They are always incorporating fun backgrounds and changing them every so often. Sharpie also does a fantastic job at spotlighting customer’s creativity on Instagram.
Yes, these are all huge companies, but there is something to take away from all of them. They use social media to engage with their customers to build a better relationship with them and they have fun doing it! The key is to find a creative way to have your customers interact with your brand and pictures are always a plus! There are many more companies doing great things online other than these three, so search them out to gather a few ideas.