In my last article, I talked about Top Of Mind Awareness and how Social Media Marketing is a new frontier that your company should considering adding to your marketing mix.

Today I want to talk more about how Social Media Marketing can help increase your credibility through building relationships and testimonials.

I talked in my last article about how capturing Top of Mind Awareness means you are the first person (or company) people think of when they think of a certain product or services. What I didn’t cover is the reaction that follows. There is another element beyond that top of mind thought. After you responded with the first product or service that came to mind you most likely had one of four reactions regarding their product or service:

Positive: You have used their product or service and loved it. It was great and you would recommend it to your friends. In fact, next time you do that type of business you’ll do it with that same company again, because you like the product or service so much. You are so pleased with the service that even if a competitor comes along and gains the top of mind experience you are not likely to change service / product.

Curious: You wonder if the product or service is as great as advertised. Next time you are in the market for that type of product or service you’ll probably at least check them out. Or if you are currently having a positive experience with a competitor but they fail you in some way in the future you’ll most likely check out this company who has gained your Top of Mind Awareness.

Indifferent: You have tried the product or service and found that it is okay, but not great and fantastic. If it is convenient you may take advantage of that product or service, but you won’t go out of your way for it.

Negative: You had a really bad experience with the company. A bad product or service has really turned you off. In fact if that product or service comes up in conversation you will most likely make a point to share your bad experience in hope of saving someone from having a bad experience.

The great thing about Social Media Marketing is that it can provide you with a wealth of opportunities and take advantage of each reaction.

About a year ago, a local Chiropractor I saw frequently and was following on Facebook was giving out $5 Starbucks gift cards for the first ten people to post their testimonial on his Facebook page. What an ingenious idea! All of a sudden he had several testimonials he could use in other marketing. People who were following him could read the testimonials for themselves and he could have even taken those testimonials and promoted them on other social media sites. (For example, he could have sent out a tweet on twitter that said, "Check out what our customers say about us!).

By encouraging testimonials you can build a huge repository so that new people begin to give you credibility. With testimonials, people who are curious can see that you are really as good as you say you are. Indifferent people may give you another try. You also have the chance to see what customers really think. If a negative person posts a comment such as, "Their check out lines are to long," you have instant feedback that you can then take and improve on. You could respond to the comment by saying, "We appreciate your feedback. As a result our new commitment is to open a new checkout lane every time there are more than 5 people standing in line." When people feel valued and believe that a company really cares about what they think, their negativity can be changed into positive beliefs about the company. Responding to negative comments can also show others that you are a caring company who doesn’t just show their "Sunday best" but who are interesting in building trust.

It is undisputed that word of mouth is the best type of marketing. Social Media Marketing allows you to take that word of mouth and get the most mileage out of it by promoting and encouraging testimonials from customers, friends and family of customers. You can then take the virtual "word of mouth" and spread it around your local community. As a result your business has huge potential to grow in your community.

We at Be Sighted Social Media are offering a free white paper to help you get started, simply visit our website!