I was reading December’s Hispanic Business magazine issue while waiting to meet with Alice Perez at the SHCC office yesterday and wanted to pass along some powerful comments from Rebecca Villaneda’s article which more Hispanic Small businesses may want to be aware of.
“Facebook pages and Twitter accounts are no longer optional. Actions such as “like,” “hashtag,” “follow” and “check-in” are golden tickets to a business owner.”
“Social media provides businesses with an opportunity to increase brand awareness and sales, improve consumer perception and customer service and to spot trends that may prompt new products or service offerings,” said Elianne Ramos, vice chairwoman of communications at Latinos in Social Media (LATISM) and CEO of Speak Hispanic LLC. “We see that the most successful businesses in this arena are the ones that maintain a more transparent, two–way conversation. The key is to use it not just as a simple ‘shouting platform’ for your organization, but as a tool to build goodwill and enhance relationships with existing and prospective customers.”
“Advancements in technology means that your customers can find you at a moment’s notice, and usually at their fingertips,” said Leonardo Basterra, executive director of digital at Lopez Negrete Communications. “There are new generations of future customers who will only know you through social media. While it’s important that you be in the game, you’ll need to be an active player to win in this medium.”
“Give the people what they want the way the want it” – Mike Alvarez
While at lunch with an Attorney friend and client he asked me “do you think I need to worry about mobile? The most tech savvy collegue’s firm in Sacramento didn’t have a mobile optimized site so his thought was, if they don’t have it, why do I need it?” Check out these comments from the same article:
In August 2011, 72.2 million Americans accessed social media networking sites or blogs on their mobile devices — an increase of 37 percent in the past year, according to comScore. Of the top 10 types of apps used by smartphone owners, social networking landed at the No. 3 spot, behind games and weather, according to Nielsen. In fact, 40 percent of social media users access their services from their mobile phones, according to Nielsen.
“With the introduction of smartphones and 4G connectivity, reviews, thoughts and comments are shared at speeds never before seen,” Mr. Gouverneur said. “Businesses need to sync up and stay on top of their brand reputation.”
“Remember it’s not a choice weather we use social media and mobile marketing, but how well we use them”. – Mike Alvarez Don’t be left in your competitors dust. Attend one of 2 FREE lunch and learns sponsored by MainStreet Chamber of Northern California later this month. Information you need from the source you can trust. Have a fun and profitable day!