5 Companies That Rocked Social Media

5 Companies that Rocked Social Media

You probably already know that social media sites like Facebook and Pinterest have changed the way companies and consumers interact. Marketing is no longer about sale pitches and advertising. It’s about building relationships with your customers and showing them that you understand their needs. Since it’s a relatively new medium, however, it’s just as easy to alienate customers as it is to draw them in. In the short time social media has been used by businesses for marketing purposes, there have been just as many snafus as success stories.

How can you ascertain the success of your social media campaign? There are no guarantees, but we can learn from a few companies who have done it right.

1. Skittles

This famous candy maker has added their own personal flair to their social media pages while making sure to interact with customers who write in. They not only answer consumer questions and solve problems, but they also have a little fun debating whether or not orange Skittles are taking over. Even better, they rarely write self-promotional material. It’s all about the customer interaction.

2. IBM

They created a blog network where employees could write about their experiences, ideas, and updates. Customers are allowed to leave comments and conversations are started. Employees provide techie advice to readers, while adding various perspectives to maximize the number of connections the company makes.

3. Starbucks

This coffee giant doesn’t just allow customers to write in, they encourage suggestions and feedback on the way they do business. Not only that, but the ideas are then voted on and discussed in their open forum. The ideas that are most popular are then often put into action, and customers can see the status of their suggestions as they go through the cycle from idea to implementation.

4. Zappos

Not only the employees of this retailer join in on the conversation, but the CEO as well. What’s more is that the CEO of Zappos doesn’t bombard his customers with corporate speak and “your tweet is very important to us” mumbo jumbo. He lets his real personality shine through with a bit of humor and a conversational tone. Not an easy feat when you’re limited to typing 140 characters or less.

5. Comcast

It’s one thing to respond to customer complaints when they leave them on your site, or when they’re called into a customer service line. Comcast raised the bar though, with their social media campaign. They have agents who search for the company online so that they can address complaints and other issues, even if the person didn’t contact the company directly.