Social internet, web 2.0, a lot of kids chatting on MSN and Facebook – what has that got to do with business?
The answer is - ‘a lot!’ Estimates vary, but it’s generally accepted that over 70% of content on the web is now user generated. What we are talking about here is not communications, but conversations – people talking to each other. And if people are talking to each other, they could (and maybe already are) talking about you and your business.
Stimulating and getting involved in those conversations is a powerful ability, and many major companies are recognising the benefits it can deliver. Listening to what customers think about your business is at the root of customer service. Forget the expensive and contrived research, focus groups and interviews – all you need to do is get involved and listen. One leading mobile phone manufacturer based its next generation of mobile phones on the discussions of its users – who knows better about what the customers want?
If words like blogging, Wikipedia, Facebook, Web 2.0 and Twitter are foreign to you, you may be missing an important trick. Learning to use blogs and the social internet is a powerful business skill. It’s reckoned there are over 112m blogs, with over 400m people visiting them.
Get involved, learn to use social internet, start to blog – it’s a great way to talk to customers, get them to talk to each other, and talk back to you!
The answer is - ‘a lot!’ Estimates vary, but it’s generally accepted that over 70% of content on the web is now user generated. What we are talking about here is not communications, but conversations – people talking to each other. And if people are talking to each other, they could (and maybe already are) talking about you and your business.
Stimulating and getting involved in those conversations is a powerful ability, and many major companies are recognising the benefits it can deliver. Listening to what customers think about your business is at the root of customer service. Forget the expensive and contrived research, focus groups and interviews – all you need to do is get involved and listen. One leading mobile phone manufacturer based its next generation of mobile phones on the discussions of its users – who knows better about what the customers want?
If words like blogging, Wikipedia, Facebook, Web 2.0 and Twitter are foreign to you, you may be missing an important trick. Learning to use blogs and the social internet is a powerful business skill. It’s reckoned there are over 112m blogs, with over 400m people visiting them.
Get involved, learn to use social internet, start to blog – it’s a great way to talk to customers, get them to talk to each other, and talk back to you!
Comments