Social media presence.

During this internship I have learned a lot about social media and online communication, and  have gained more understanding of how important it is to be present there. Also, I have learned that everybody actually is on social media. Even if you have not created an account or profile yourself, others will get you there anyway. For private persons, friends will post pictures and write blog posts about you for example. For businesses, this is probably an even more important issue. If you company is not present, you risk to miss a lot of things that are discussed about you on social media sites. Because others will discuss you. They can for example spread negative or false info about you, or provide positive info or contructive feedback. If you aren't present, you miss a chance to provide answers, defend yourself and learn from the feedback.

Cathrin Frisemo has written a blog post about companies and their presence on social media sites. She writes that many companies think like "We don't know if we should enter the social media world", but hey you are already there! These thoughts don't work anymore. Be present yourself, or let others control your presence there! Many companies also create an account, but then aren't active there. That is also a big mistake. You need a strategy. Consumers will expect that they can communicate with you there, and if you aren't aware of that, it can affect your brand and market relationships in a very negative way (As I discussed yesterday with Fair Trade orgs). I also learned from Nina Jansdotter how important it is to create  value to your followers on social media. If a person "like" you page, or follow you, they want to get something from it. Fashion companies can for example share pictures from collections, stores or clubs can send invitations to events, and restaurants or cafes can share recipes or provide coupons. Be there, communicate and create value :)