Love it or hate it, social media is now an integral part of everyday life for many people. Neil Mattock, Marketing Director at Vokèra by Riello, looks at how social networking can also be good for business.
Streamlining communication
Although it may have started out as a communication tool for sharing photos, opinions and events, social media today is used for much more than just social interaction. The popular networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, can also be powerful business tools that make it faster and easier than ever before to communicate with customers, suppliers and manufacturers. Companies can talk directly to existing and potential clients via these online platforms and respond more quickly to enquiries, helping to improve their customer service levels. Indeed, social media interaction with heating installers is now part of the daily routine for Vokèra’s Technical Support Team. Industry forums provide an ideal way for us to communicate with installers and we are often able to answer their queries without them having to even pick up a phone. That’s not to say that actually meeting and talking to your customers is no longer important because it is. However, using social media to get an ‘instant’ answer to a question can often be a real boon for a busy installer.
Be selective
From our experience at Vokèra it pays to be selective when using this technology for business, whether you are an installer looking to set up your own business page or profile on social media, or simply following your preferred suppliers. By following the companies you deal with on a regular basis you’ll get instant access to news about their latest promotions, product developments, and any professional training or trade events you may be interested in attending. As well as news updates, these sites are a great place to hear what people are saying and to join in conversations about issues that affect our industry. Vokèra is active on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and we find the interaction with our followers is invaluable in understanding what is important to them. They can communicate their feedback to us in ‘real time’ and send messages directly to key members of our team. Our social media accounts also offer easy access to associated groups including Vokèra BeSMART controls.
Industry forums
Industry forums are another popular form of social networking for the heating industry. These sites may be open to the public or restricted to members-only and have strict rules to encourage positive and respectful online behaviour. The ‘Gas Chat’ group on Facebook, for example, has over 12,000 members and gas heating engineers can chat online with their peers about issues that affect their working lives. They provide a virtual meeting place to share experiences and advice, which many find very useful. In addition, installers can use social media to stay on top of industry news, such as regulatory changes, by following relevant industry bodies and organisations, and then sharing this information with their own followers.
Customer engagement
Many installers also have their own social media accounts to promote their business and generate leads. As already mentioned, social media is all about communication and engagement, so it is important to get the right mix of business and personal messages to connect and build quality relationships with your target audience. Also, it is worth noting that the most commonly-shared content on social media is an image. By including a picture with your posts, possibly a recently completed installation, you can share your successes and significantly increase your chances of getting a follower to share the post with their network, and so on. In fact, there are a few well-known installers who have built a huge number of followers through their strong social media presence and become influencers in our industry.
Although social media sometimes gets a bad press it has clearly helped streamline communication and networking in business and so could be described as the new ‘word of mouth’. If it is used effectively, politely and for genuine communication, social media can be a really valuable platform for a new or existing business, helping to generate new leads, boost brand awareness, share knowledge and build quality relationships with customers.
