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Social media: Do it properly or not at all

Tessa Reed
By Tessa Reed, Journalist
Johannesburg, 16 Aug 2012

Before companies put themselves on a social media platform, they need to make sure they are ready for the medium. This includes having the right systems in place to respond to customers in real time, and making sure the company's social media account is in line with the brand image the company wants to project.

So says Nikki Cockcroft, head of online at Woolworths.

Speaking at the ITWeb Social Media Summit this week, Cockcroft noted that conversations on social media platforms happen in real time, and customers expect responses in real time, too.

According to Cockcroft, it is crucial that social media managers feed the comments they receive on social media platforms back into the business. For example, she said, if a company is receiving a lot of similar complaints on a social platform, this is an indication that it needs to make a change.

For this reason, says Cockcroft, it is also important that social media managers have the confidence to take complaints to the CEO of a company. She added that this is why companies should not hire social media managers purely based on a person's Twitter following.

Cockcroft also stressed the need for brands to remain professional when using social media to engage with consumers. She said that while the medium is a great way to build relationships with customers, companies need to know where to draw the line. “Smiley faces and hearts are not acceptable,” she said. “You are still a brand and you need to remain professional.”

Finally, Cockcroft stressed that companies cannot use social media purely to punt their brands or push their public relations. If they do this, she warned, they will quickly lose engagement.

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