Get to the Pub this Weekend!

I know I am banging on about Twitter a great deal at the moment, but it is a fairly hot topic:

I went to an event in London last week to join a convivial group of articulate and entertaining people and share stories about the emergence of social media from a research and analysis point of view.

I had a lengthy conversation today with a passionate Kent marketing trainer (amongst her many other talents), and although she is a recent convert to social media, she has already seen the massive potential of this area of marketing.

Even yesterday evening, I saw debates on-line regarding whether or not social media is just the latest buzz that will get hyped up and then deflate like a souffle.

There is no doubt that Twitter and Facebook have certainly got the business world in a whirl, as well as divided over their validity as marketing tools.

In past posts, I have tried to calm the hubbub down and put these social media into perspective. Someone wrote in one of the debates that I have been following, "At the very least, companies should take a passive role of monitoring what is being said about their brand, their competition, and their service or product offerings."

How I have suggested that businesses begin using social media is just to start listening, and see what is being said - I have equated this to eavesdropping at a party, picking up snippets that interest you before you join in.

You will find that results, in some shape or form, will start to follow.

I will give you a very basic example:

For a couple of weeks, I have noticed a pub in the Kent village of Great Chart being very active on Twitter. The tweets are conversational, personable and welcoming. As a result, I chose to "follow" them.

On Twitter, there is a custom every Friday where you can post tweets suggesting people that other people might like to follow. Amongst those I mentioned this week was the Great Chart pub.

As polite people do, he thanked me for the mention and we talked weather and weekend....mundane stuff, BUT..

This registered with me; a simple dialogue, but in the shortest of moments, politeness, etiquette and the giving of time made me determined to give this pub my custom. I have been introduced to the pub's owner and already feel welcome; already feel like a customer.

Now I believe that anything that has that sort of power deserves to be treated as a hot topic. Every business I know is on the hunt for that one extra customer.

My new friend, the marketing trainer (see above!), pointed out today that so many businesses try so hard to find their USP. As she so rightly points out, the one unique thing about your business is you. Unlike any other marketing medium, Twitter and Facebook allow you to project your personality, and get across your uniqueness.

Listen, join in, react, be yourself and you will get social media working for you. The pub in Great Chart got a new customer today; your business could get one tomorrow.

By the way, if you'd like to follow the pub on Twitter, the handle is @HoodenersHorse!