Last month, I noticed on a friend’s Facebook post a photo of a display sign that said “Chromatic Inc Welcomes Greg and Marinella.”  She commented: “Love it when a printer greets you with hospitality!”

Marinella is a wonderful designer and she works with numerous printers, but this one she’ll particularly remember for how she was initially greeted at a press-run.

While on one hand it’s a lesson in customer service, it’s also a lesson in social media.

One wonders sometimes what a business should expect by having a Facebook page or a Twitter account and why anyone should be a follower.  The outcome of an effective social media strategy, I’ve come to realize, rests not with what one posts on their own company page or how many times a day they tweet, but elsewhere entirely.

It’s all about what others say about you!

It’s exactly the same philosophy as PR.  PR is based on the fact that unsolicited word of mouth is the best form of marketing, and the second best is what a journalist or other third-party says about you – assuming, of course, that it’s positive.

Therefore, a good social media strategy isn’t about Facebook or Twitter at all.  It’s not about the “where” of the message, but the “what”:  What can you do, say or sell that is fresh and valuable enough that others will be compelled to talk about you.  The Holy Grail is having strong third-party endorsements.  That’s the ONLY social media outcome that really generates sales.

So what can you do that creates such an amazing customer experience they’ll want to share it with their friends?  Start listening carefully to your own friends and associates when they tell you what wonderful thing just happened to them with a product or service and make notes. Read “Raving Fans” by Ken Blanchard and get ideas.  And then act on them.

Marinella’s Facebook friends who are in the graphic arts field now are exposed to a local printer who demonstrates customer care, and the sales power of her endorsement (with photographic evidence) goes beyond that of any ad or Facebook page the company could create.

The  basis of your social media program has to be in getting your customers to tweet, post, blog or talk about the wonderful ways they were treated by your company and or how exceptional your products are in their lives.

That’s when social media in business works its magic.

–  By Dan Katz, Agent of Change  © 2012 LA ads – A Marketing Agency