Here’s a little fact: 79% of adults and teenagers are on social media, but the number keeps growing. Every year more and more people jump on the social media bandwagon and their presence gets harder and harder to ignore. You can pretend that more than half of your audiences aren’t on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Let’s “assume” that’s the case and that your company hasn’t utilized the social media world yet. Why should you?

Why should businesses use social media? American entrepreneur and bestselling author Seth Godin once said in response, “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell”. Your company has a significant story to tell its consumers and targeted audiences! Your company has goals, a mission, and a voice that needs to reach people of all kinds; with the growing generation of people getting hooked onto social media, you need to be able to expose them to how great your company is!

The social media team here at Posse lives off of this stuff, it’s what drives us to create content for our clients. Needless to say we know a thing or two about social publishing. Let us scrape only the surface of why taking your business to the Internet realm will benefit not only your company but also your customers.

The Benefits…

  1. The world of social media is instantaneous and messages can be conveyed in a second, Communication in this realm is immediate, which means you can reach your clients at a moment’s notice. Have a product that needs a recall? Post it to Facebook. Sponsoring an event that could use support? Tweet about it, and instead of customers waiting on the phone for a half hour or waiting for an email response you make them happy instantaneously!

  2. We as people are social creatures by nature, do you not agree? We thrive on communication with people, so when we receive an automated email about customer service or spend an hour on the phone with a Siri-like voice on the other end it gets exhausting! Social media makes your company more personable, literally! People know they can reach out to you instead of a machine and that makes all the difference.

  3. People in general want to know they’re being heard, especially if they feel they’ve been wronged. Transparent communication is the key to happy customers. This gives them an instant outlet to vent how they feel, and an open forum for them to see how you handle it.

  4. Company mentions and hashtags are the cornerstones of social media, it’s how ideas and companies get recognition. Expand your brand recognition by establishing a presence so that users can mention you in their posts and redirect more people to your sites.

  5. Follow up is super quick. The best part about having a Facebook or Twitter? Someone complains and you can jump right on it, and have the opportunity to ask immediately if they’re satisfied or not.

  6. We can all agree that people use social media to be social, correct? People are more likely going to share their experiences with your company on their NewsFeed! Why? Because they want to inform people of their experiences, which you would have influenced.

  7. We’ve all been there over the phone. Having a problem and being directed to an anonymous voice who keeps telling you to press a number until you finally reach the end and your problem still isn’t solved. You will eliminate the referral effect. Your audiences will appreciate your personable responses rather than hearing your voicemail for the 5th time.

  8. When people Google your company, how many sites pop up for it? What exactly comes up? Not only will you have more control over what comes up in a search, but you make your organization ten times more visible! Not only will your website come up but your social outlets will appear, making your online presence stronger.

  9. If nothing else motivates you, your competition is on social media. If someone is choosing between you and a competing company and they Google both for more information, who do you think will come up more? We are in the 21st century ladies and gentlemen, the age of the Internet is just starting and you’ve got to jump on before you’re left behind and the competition has audiences you could’ve spoken to.

  10. Finally, social media can enhance your offline marketing efforts. Have events that are being held in the real world? You can create a Facebook event to post on your page and create a hashtag on Twitter to categorize your event. You can even add social media sharing buttons to your website and emails you send to customers; way to get the word out!

There are multiple reasons why organizations need social media, and we’re shedding the spotlight on a particular case in general. Bombshell actress Jessica Alba’s billion-dollar startup company, The Honest Company, came under some serious heat this past week as parents all across social media complained about how their sunscreen products don’t work and are “pretty much useless.” Twitter and Facebook were abuzz with photos taken by angry parents of scorched skins and red rumps off of their children who wore the trusted company’s sunscreen products during the summer heat. Even full grown adults who have used the sunscreen on themselves have said they are not satisfied with the product and have been ‘burned’ by the company as well. With this company coming under fire from all corners of the social media realm, what was their response?

The Honest Company released a statement to news outlets acknowledging the fact that the FDA requires that companies test out their products to make sure they are effective and safe. They included that they were indeed tested by a third party and it was deemed effective and safe (as long as it used as directed):

“The Honest Company is committed to providing safe and effective products, and we take all consumer feedback very seriously… The number of complaints received on our own website about our Sunscreen Lotion constitute less than one half of one percent of all units actually sold at honest.com. We stand behind the safety and efficacy of this product.”

Alba finally took it to her personal Instagram account to add, saying that she uses her own products on herself and her family when out at the beach. “Protecting our loved ones and yours is the reason we founded @honest,” she wrote, “As parents, it pains us to hear that anyone has had a negative experience with our sunscreen”. Expressing her concern for the negative feedback, however, she continued to stand by their products and did not issue an apology or any sympathies for the affected consumers.

The Honest Company was founded by actress Jessica Alba and her husband, and has been dedicated to providing consumers with “honest to goodness” products that are organic and promote safe wellness for their consumers and the public. All of their products are in form with PETA and are made with sustainable products that both adults and children can use alike.

Their public relations side lacks very much to be desired. Unfortunately they have not addressed this problem to the public, except in a statement that claims the product works when used correctly and as directed; does that mean all those people don’t know how to use sunscreen then? Their public relations has only gone so far as their to their Twitter page, to which they’ve replied to individual negative tweets about the product (and directed complaints to their social email). If ignored, how will the company be able to convey their honest reputation and prevent further bad-mouthing by affected customers? This is when the magic of social media happens.

To start the healing process, Alba needs to gather her public relations and social media strategy team together and do a few things to address this mini crisis they have.

Next Steps…

  1. They need to start being proactive, which means they need to jump on top of this problem. Alba was on the right track when she issued another statement on Instagram, but it wasn’t her company’s account, so who could see it? Fans of hers for when she was in “Good Luck Chuck” and “The Fantastic Four”? That won’t do a whole lot, folks. They need to make an official statement on their website or their blog and express their concern over this problem, which directs me to the next step.

  2. People like to feel like they’ve been heard and be understood. That’s why the next step should be to empathize with the audiences. The Honest Company needs to let people know they heard their complaints about the product and that they want to hear more and to learn from their mistakes. Maybe their solution could be to set up a hotline to hear their complaints or even set up a Facebook and Twitter account specifically for this problem.

  3. After gathering all the information about why people are complaining, you know what they should do? Offer a solution! The best solution would be to offer a coupon for future purchases or even aloe vera lotion of some kind to combat the sunburns they received from exposure. This way the company can make up for lost time and turn angry customers into happy customers, who will return and reduce the chance of spreading bad press.

It’s a shame that The Honest Company has hit this communication crisis when they’ve received a ton of positive publicity as of late for their involvement in empowering young girls to be entrepreneurs and programmers. They sell organic and clean products, but must reexamine what makes certain products faulty. This company is based off of honesty and sending a good message, so if that comes into question they need to reconsider what they deem as honesty.

Now it’s your turn to decide. What do you want for your company? What message do you want to send your audience? Social media may be a vast, mysterious world, but it’s a GREAT benefit to helping your company market itself and gain major followers. So who do you want to be; a Tweeter or a follower?