I was looking at buying a laptop the other day and I came across the Alienware website – Alienware spcecialise in very high performance gaming laptops. After looking over the spec of some of the laptops I was pretty much sold! Unfortunately I do not have the £1500 for the one I would like, so I think I’ll it to the list of things to save for. Later that day I tweeted “I want an Alienware laptop”, the following day the official Dell US account (Alienware are a subsidiary of Dell) tweeted me back in a friendly manor and attached a video…

When I first saw this I was truly amazed! A massive company such as Dell sent me a personal video – ok granted they do this to the majority of people that post about their products, but even so!  In the video title they included my Twitter handle and even say my name! It’s safe to say that I now want an Alienware laptop even more!

So why is this an amazing example of social media? Dell is approaching their potential clients that are showing a clear interest in their products. The company see the value in social media and have spent time on how to best use it. It is very clear that research has been conducted to see who is talking about their products/services/or about the business. Once the research has been done the business contacts the person in a non sales tone, but in a friendly and approachable manor. To add a bit more personality to the business, Dell, recorded a personal video message and sent the link to said person. The person that was originally browsing at the products then feels valued by the business and increases the emotion of desire for the product. Since this has happened I have actually created a little savings plan for the laptop – to which my fiancé wasn’t overly keen as she said I should be saving for our wedding.

This does not mean that you need to be sat at your PC of every hour of the day checking what people are saying about your products/business/services. What you need to take from this example is the fact that the business is going to where its potential clients are ‘hanging out.’ The business has approached the potential client interested in their product a friendly manor and started a conversation. Conversation is key here as it is not just a mass of sales waffle. When you’re next using a social media platform such as Facebook or Twitter, search for people that are talking about your products or services and engage with them. Reply with an engaging question or give them a bit of friendly advice so they feel valued. Once the person you have contacted has seen your response they will look into your business, they’ll have a look at the rest of your social media and your website. In my opinion this is how social media should be used, a friendly communication platform between business and customer. Use social media to develop the relationship between you and your potential clients – you can even use it to help maintain retention with your current clients.

This example of social media is a good one and each time I watch it I am inspired to up my own game when using social media. How do you use social media? Do you engage with your audience or do you just post updates about your products and services?