Listen Up! You’ll discover how to become more successful while solving problems hindering that success. Chain Store Age asserts that, “Social media allows customers to take an active role in product development and assortment selection, become evangelists who play a critical (and usually unpaid) role in marketing and branding efforts, and create an ongoing, real-time (and also usually unpaid) feedback mechanism that is vastly larger and more diverse than any traditional focus group. Of course, making customers an extension of the enterprise through social media can have its downside, such as when disappointed consumers vent their frustrations in public online forums. Social listening is a disruptive practice where the retailer (or a contracted third party) monitors all avenues of social media for negative or positive comments on a brand or a chain, allowing it to quickly identify and resolve any problems.” 

Sales-free zone. Social media is about relevant conversations so it is important to use caution and discretion about your message and when it does or doesn’t sell. A recent www.business2community.com article makes the case: “If you’re putting 100% of your efforts on social into selling and promoting your own deals, you’re making a mistake. Think about it: you’re home, on a Thursday night watching TV, relaxing, skipping through your Facebook feed, and you’re seeing posts from your friends, family, and pages that you like. What are you most likely to like & comment on? Unique, fun images & questions? Or an endless string of commercials? Seeing back to back posts about the same sales event, especially if you’re not in the market, to buy something, can be a total turn off.”