News

Social Media: It’s About Relationships

January 30, 2012

Expo presenter Ken Koo to share tips for gaining customers' trust using digital media
By Amy Francisco

The secret to success in most any business is the repeat customer. And a company's social media efforts can be the key to establishing relationships that lead to repeat business, says Ken Koo, president of Imaginuity Interactive, the Dallas-based digital services agency that is handling the makeover of Wally's Party Factory's online branding. “Digital and social media have the power to foster and develop the [customer] relationship beyond the transaction,” he said.

Koo will provide tips on how to harness the trust-building power of social media to attendees of his presentation, “Social Media – It's About Relationships,” at the 2012 Halloween & Party Expo in Houston, Texas. His session, to be offered Jan. 30 from 4 to 4:30 p.m. and Jan. 31 from 9:30 to 10 a.m., is part of a new education and demo stage for show attendees.

“Both sellers and buyers can benefit from this particular session,” Koo said. “They're going to learn a little Social Media 101 – what you can do across channels. But we're also going to talk about how to develop trust and relationships online through branding and through conversations with prospects and customers. Once you can start having those conversations, a lot of the challenges in business go away.”

Koo has more than 13 years of management and technology consulting experience. Prior to taking the helm at Imaginuity two years ago, he was the director of professional services at Acquity Group, a digital professional services company. He has also built and worked for several online startup companies.

In his sessions at the Halloween & Party Expo, Koo will discuss the best social media channels to use for relationship-building. “We always focus on the big three: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. If you add blogging, it's the big four,” he said. “[Businesses should] build out their branding on each of them, but use them in different ways. If engagement is the focus, Facebook should be the hub.”

Session attendees will also take home some do's and don'ts for how to use social media to its fullest potential, including the importance of building a brand online and facilitating clear, transparent – and constant – communication. And they'll also get the chance to gain insight into the mind of the consumer as Koo shares the five steps of the “life cycle of the consumer,” a process that business owners and sales managers can use to their advantage. 

Learn more about Ken Koo and his presentation, as well as other learning opportunities for attendees, in the Halloween & Party Expo's Education/Demo Center.