FAQ
New Social Media Channel
I like Canadian twin-sister rock duo Tegan and Sara. I first heard them about 7 years ago when they were relatively unheard of. We featured them on a late-night arts & entertainment show I was producing for CBC TV. We did with them, what we did with all bands that came through the studio, we had them play a couple of songs and then we interviewed them.
There is no doubt in my mind, Tegan and Sara have been interviewed a bazillion times since – and likely have answered the exact same questions we asked them 7 years ago, a bazillion times over. Such is the nature of fame and fortune.
Even in our own less famous lives we encounter the same questions time and time again. What do you do? Where did you go to school? If you could be any animal, which one would you be? You know. The usual.
Every day that I explore social media, I discover new tools, new channels, new ideas – many that are great. But one thing I picked up on this week (thanks to some fine folks I follow on Twitter), strikes me as more visionary than the rest. It’s a website called FormSpring and its premise is simple: ask any question you want someone to answer. You pose a question to someone on FormSpring, that person answers it, and it lives on their profile forever – or until they choose to delete it. You can ask anonymously or as yourself.
FormSpring offers all kinds of widgets, one of them making it easy to add this tailored, user-generated FAQ to your personal or company blog.
The reasons I think this is brill:
- from a company standpoint, it means your customers/audience shape your FAQ’s; making your FAQ’s more relevant to those who are most relevant to your business
- by virtue of this previous point, it creates an opportunity for real transparency and accessibility – the hallmarks of social media done right
- a profile on FormSpring can provide a permanent (or as permanent as you like) list of answers to questions you get asked all the time. In the case of Tegan and Sara, this could be invaluable; not just for them but for their fans.
- it offers the respondent a way of controlling their messaging, while still being honest and open with those asking the questions
- and finally, it’s just fun. Asking anyone anything? Are you kidding me? That’s awesome.
It should be said, I have no affiliation whatsoever with FormSpring. But hey – I don’t want to steal your thunder. You can ask me that on my profile.
Or help Magnify Digital shape its FAQ section. We know you want to ask us about our dog.
Tags: FAQ, formspring, Social Media, strategy
