Feedback Frenzy

Customer Feedback is a huge advantage of Social Media Marketing. For a company to be able to one on one communicate with consumers is extremely helpful in the sense that they receive different insights on how they can innovate their company. Through tweets, comments, shares, and likes companies can see first hand the response consumers have to new products, any issues a customer may be facing with the company or product, they way they're reacting to changes, and thoughts people have about the companies. They can do all this while simultaneously creating and maintaining their brand image, and also increasing awareness and recognition of the company.

If anything is true about people it is that they LOVE to be involved, whether it be with companies, restaurants, events, or even just other people's business. They want to know everything first and they want continuous updates about everything. Social Media acts as a tool to help the customers get involved with companies. Through gratitude, complaints and suggestions social media is right there helping companies receive this customer input. A lot of the time you see on twitter people complaining about the product they received, or an experience they've had and the company tweets right back trying to diffuse the issue and compensate the customer. This helps companies with their awareness because it gives off the image that they care about their customers and they do not want anyone having negative feelings towards the company, but it also helps their customer service department so now customers feel like, if theres an issue with a business it can be resolved without having to wait on the phone for hours.

Another way customers can get themselves involved is on Instagram. If you enjoy a product and want to tell the world it is encouraged that you post about it, especially with pictures. People love pictures, personally I use pictures that companies have of ordinary people whether, reposted, retweeted, or tagged as a sort of customer review of the product. Some companies have competitions where they'll post the picture on their own page in a way to market their product and make the customer whose photo they're using feel involved. I know a lot of companies even send free stuff to customers with a high following to post on Instagram or Twitter and advertise/market their products as an ambassador for that company.

Insta-Marketing

Instagram is so popular, especially today. Businesses and companies use Instagram as promotional tactics to increase brand awareness and to spread ideas and knowledge about the company. I see this first hand every day. I work at a place in Tampa called Fruitwood Standup Market. It is a small, made-to-order restaurant that also caters. Most, almost all, of their marketing is done strictly at fundraisers and catering for non-profits, but they also have an Instagram page in which our boss is a stickler about. He thinks it is so important for the restaurant to self market through our Instagram page. Every Monday morning, when my manager walks into the establishment, he turns to me and the one of the other girls I works with and says "we need to Instagram today." He feels like two Instagram's a week is very important. I think he feels this way for a few reasons. One, because it is not an overload where we are posting pictures everyday and blowing up peoples timeline. Two, because it keeps Fruitwood in customers awareness. Three, if we're promoting food and juices that we have, it increases interest which makes people want to try, which can increase sales of those items. So, now with the use of Instagram, Fruitwood isn't just marketing to new customers at events that they cater for, but they are marketing to current customers and increasing the brand recognition and knowledge of other products. It is even better for the Fruitwood image when people comment back and draw more attention to the posts, cause attention to the posts means attention for the company.

Fruitwood doesn't just use Instagram to promote new products, they use it to give credit and thanks to customers that use the catering aspect of the business, they've given thanks to magazines that wrote an article on the business. To wish their followers safe and happy holidays, and to promote other events going on that relate to the company but may not have their full involvement. Every time someone at Fruitwood does post an Instagram, our boss never fails to emphasize the importance of tagging every single employee in each post (even though every time he puts the post up he forgets) but with all employees he likes us to tag all of the local Tampa Bay popular food Instagram's to bring awareness to them as well. A lot of the posts that do promote or introduce products also show the positive energy and enthusiasm that Fruitwood has for their customers.





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