Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Are you a Virgin in Social Media?

I am a regular customer of Virgin Blue and my most common route is Sydney Melbourne. In fact I think I should become a shareholder for returns other than frequent flyer points.

 A few weeks ago I was standing at the airport at the back of the line waiting patiently to board the plane when I heard the usual announcement that anyone with special needs, children or premium economy passengers could board the flight.

I stood in line and thought to myself why dont they call out their Gold Card holders to board at the same time. Now not sure about you but as soon as I get an idea or need to provide feedback I must do immediately.

How did I choose to interact with Virgin and provide them with feedback - FACEBOOK!

So by the time the flight doors had closed I had posted my comment onto their facebook page and felt at peace with myself and I could move onto other more important things on the flight - a nanna nap.

By the time I had landed at Sydney airport I had a response posted by a Virgin person who I assume is in charge of their social media on the fact that they should be making such announcements.

Another fellow passenger then jumped on board with what I was saying and agreed with my sentiments to which the Virgin response was thanks for letting us know and we will follow through.

Why am I telling you this story because many businesses today are unsure the role social media plays, how to implement, engage staff, get fans, what to write about, what policy the biz should have etc etc etc.

Social Media is one part of your marketing toolkit, in the biz I am in at the moment we are using it to engage with the community, share stories, market reports, properties, vacant positions, other blogs, events, team building activities etc. The content is not just about real estate, our goal is to ensure we engage our fans.

Fans are starting to share their stories, post photos and the next stage is exactly what I did with Virgin - provide us with feedback on how we can provide better services.

It is easy to be over whelmed by what is occuring in the social media world, it is also easy to fnd many articles that suggest that we are all wasting out time, however its not going away.

You need to develop a stratgey to get fans, ensure you have a voice, your content is engaging and you are consistent. Check out other facebook sites to see what they are doing to engage fans and follow the golden rule of training
ROAD = Rip Off And Duplicate.....only better

You can follow the facebook page I talk about in this blog, it is called LNS Property, log onto facebook, search for this page and become a fan.