Have you noticed how things happen at the speed of light online? Decisions are made in a matter of minutes or sometimes seconds, rather than weeks or months. One bonus in using social media is you can get feedback fast; there are a lot of people who are ready and able to share their feedback in the moment.
So let’s say you’d like to know if the font on your website is too small. Blast out a tweet with the page link, asking what your followers think. Wondering which graphic better suits your business? Post it on your Facebook business page and ask for input from your fans.
When you turn to your social networks, some of the benefits include:
- An interesting cross-section of respondents. Former colleagues, friends from college, curious passers-by, coworkers.
- Depending on the size of your network, you could have responses within minutes.
- It’s free. You don’t have to pay a cent for the feedback.
- It’s informal. No need to prepare an eight-slide PowerPoint presentation or a six-paragraph overview or any other background information. Just ask and wait for input.
- It’s objective. The people you’re asking have little or no vested interest in the outcome.
Naturally this method is better for some queries than others; there are some drawbacks, such as:
- You have no control over the responses or who they come from. You could get input from people who aren’t in your target market. And sometimes there are just plain goofy suggestions.
- Some may feel as if they have ownership in the process and could feel slighted if their suggestion isn’t followed.
So asking for feedback from your social media works best when
- The decision is minor.
- You need a variety of opinions from different people.
- The results will be public.
So there you have it. It’s easy to tap into your social networks as part of your own personal focus group to get feedback.
Social on!
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