News

Business in the Digital Age

February 14, 2012

Expo Presenter Ken Koo Shared Tips on Building Relationships with Customers Online
by Amy Francisco

If your company doesn't have a Facebook page, it should get one – and quick. A presence on the highly interactive social media channel was at the top of the list of recommendations that presenter Ken Koo made to the attendees of his session, “Social Media – It's About Relationships,” held Jan. 30 and 31 at the 2012 Halloween & Party Expo in Houston, Texas.

But not just any presence will do. Koo, the president of Dallas-based digital services agency Imaginuity Interactive, said to build trust among prospective and current customers, companies must follow a few rules when using social media – some technical and some behavioral.

“Your company should make its name on Facebook similar [if not the same as] the company name,” he said. In fact, even if you're not ready to use them yet, Koo said companies should reserve the vanity URLs featuring their names for Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other social media channels they're interested in using – before someone else does. “Consistent branding is important. [When they see your company's name] people know it's authentic and something they can trust.” 

And trust is crucial to establishing positive, ongoing relationships with customers, Koo said. “Digital and social media have the power to foster and develop the [customer] relationship beyond the transaction,” he said. “Once you start having conversations [with your customers], a lot of the challenges in business go away. You may be challenged with price fluctuations each year, for example, but that can be overcome once you start developing relationships and your customers know they can trust you to deliver. It's an enduring relationship in which they don't use you for just one transaction.”

Koo, who has more than 13 years of management and technology consulting experience, provided session attendees with some do's and don'ts for using social media to its fullest relationship-building potential. He stressed clear and transparent communication. “Let your customers communicate the challenges [and respond with] how you'll address the challenges,” he said. “Be sincere and don't filter, scrub or redact comments. Social media is meant as an open forum, so embrace it as such.”

He also reminded attendees that social media is not a project with a beginning and an end. “There's no finish line with social media. You have to foster it,” he said. “It becomes part of your business. It's another way to communicate, just as you would respond to client emails. Your social media presence needs constant care.”

For more information about Ken Koo and Imaginuity Interactive, visit imaginuity.com. To learn more about the Halloween & Party Expo and other sessions offered through its Education/Demo Center, visit  halloweenpartyexpo.com.