Last week, Nielsen released their State of Social Media report for 2012. It had some interesting numbers, and I wanted to delve a little deeper into two of them: social media and mobile social media.
Social Care is on the Rise
Social care, or customer service done through social media channels, is on the rise. Oreo cookies created a buzz during last week’s Super Bowl when they took advantage of a 34 minute blackout delay to create an ad hoc ad that went viral in a few minutes. I’ve personally received customer service from both Best Buy and GoDaddy through Twitter.
Companies can no longer afford to ignore this channel for customer interaction. Nielsen’s report also states that 1 in 3 people would prefer to interact with companies via social media than on the phone. As a business, that means that you’ve got to:
- Ensure you have enough staff ready to handle the influx of contact
- Ensure you have a social care strategy defined for your business
- Track your social care numbers
Social Media on the Run
The report also talked about how much time people are spending online from their smartphones or tablets. That number as a whole increased 21% from 2011. Time on apps actually doubled during that time period.
What does this mean for you?
- Your company’s website MUST be optimized for mobile.
- Your content must be optimized for mobile consumption.
- You may want to investigate creating an app for your company.
You Ready to Go Social?
As a B2B software company, you’ve got to make sure that you’re ready to handle your customers through social media channels. Just because you’re selling to other companies and not the public directly doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be ready. People are getting used to the idea of dealing with companies through social media, so they will expect the same of you in the B2B world.
How are you getting ready for this increase? Hit the comments and let me know.
