Failing to realise the potential social media has in engaging customers would be a massive mistake for any marketing manager. With social media being at the forefront of digital marketing, it is no longer the brand who drives the company message, but the consumer. There are 2 billion social media users worldwide, that is a lot of people and that gives brands a very wide reach but with 51% (Smart Insights, 2018) of social media users saying that they would unfollow brands if they posted irritating content, it is vital for brands to post interesting, relevant content and to always respond to their consumers social needs and wants.
- LISTEN TO YOUR CUSTOMER
Read all the comments on your social media pages, set up a hashtag or keyword and use social listening analytics such as those that Brandwatch offer to track what consumers are saying about your brand. This will give you insight into what your demographic is feeling and thinking, therefore giving you the unique opportunity to engage with them about the things that matter to them most. Crawford (2009) argues that social media is a powerful listening subject which can be of huge value to those listening.
Take a look at this case study by Brandwatch which shows how The BRIT awards utilised social listening to increase engagement and followers:
https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/the-brit-awards-successfully-orchestrating-a-social-media-campaign/
- REPLYING TO CUSTOMERS COMMENTS: THE GOOD AND THE BAD
Your audience are going to comment on your posts, whether that be with questions, or with criticisms. You should always address them even if you don’t necessarily have the answers. It shows your audience that you’re there and that you’re listening. In terms of responding to complaints, each criticism represents an opportunity to fix the problem, and to do it publically. 58% of consumers who tweet about a bad customer service experience, won’t receive a response, so make sure that you don’t miss this opportunity to prevent damage to your brand image. Gallaugher (2010) says that after a good or bad experience, customers directly influence those they have contact with, therefore getting the firm and customer dialogue right on social media is vital as it can impact sales and brand reputation.
See this article for some of the best customer service Twitter exchanges:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/0/10-brilliant-customer-service-exchanges-ever-seen-twitter/
- ASK QUESTIONS TO START CONVERSATIONS
Questions are a great way to start conversations online, they can also be a simple solution to finding out what your customer wants. Unsure about what product to release next? Ask your customer. Want to increase customer engagement? Ask for it, use phrases such as ‘Tweet us’ or ‘Tag us’ or ‘Watch this live stream’ or ‘Which do you prefer?’. Sashi (2012) says that the interactive nature of social media enables brands to better serve their customers and satisfy their needs.
Likeable Media CEO Dave Kerpen likens social media to a conversation, and in a conversation you have to ask questions, check out this short video where he explains his thoughts on the importance of asking questions: https://www.inc.com/dave-kerpen/social-media-ask-questions-that-are-easy-for-your-community-to-answer.html
- PROMOTE OTHERS CONTENT
Obviously promoting your own content is priority, but promoting others content, whether that’s a tweet, an interesting article related to your industry, an Instagram of someone wearing your clothing brand or even something a competitor did, sharing other people’s stuff is what makes a community, it will also be likely to encourage other people to share your content too.
Have a read of this blog post about why promoting others content is important:
https://www.pardot.com/blog/share-others-content-promote/
- CREATE A BRAND PERSONALITY, REPLY TO EVERYTHING LIKE YOU’RE A REAL PERSON
It’s easy for people to forget that there is someone behind every brand social media profile and that it isn’t an automated robot. Every interaction is an opportunity to show your consumers that it is a human interaction, inject some personality into your posts, joke where appropriate, sign off with a name when replying to a complaint. Customers will feel be more loyal if they can trust a brand and if the brand is relatable. Aaker’s (1997) research found that brand personality can influence a consumers attitudes towards a brand and a consumer will favour a brand whose personality is similar to their own. Your brand personality should grow out of your existing customer base, who are you targeting, what do your consumers relate to? Take time to assess the message you want to put out as a brand.
Check out this video and report on how to find your brand personality:
- DON’T POST IRRELEVANT, UNINTERESTING CONTENT
Keep posts short, to the point and engaging. Are you posting something out of duty, or because you have something of value and relevant to say? The content should be informative AND sales orientated. The average consumer receives 10,000 messages from brands every day (Jankowski, 2016) so ensure that yours stands out.
Take a look at this article of 22 of the most engaging pieces of brand content:
Engaging your customers through social media might seem like an intimidating task, but it is a key way to interact and build relationships with customers. It should be a key tactic in a business strategy as it has the ability to tell consumers that you care, that you’re listening and that you want to get involved in conversations.
References
Aaker, J. (1997). Dimensions of Brand Personality. SSRN Electronic Journal.
Crawford, K. (2009). Following you: Disciplines of listening in social media. Continuum, 23(4), pp.525-535.
Gallaugher, J. (2010). Social Media and Customer Dialog Management at Starbucks. MIS Quarterly Executive, [online] 9(4). Available at: http://www.misqe.org/ojs2/index.php/misqe/article/viewFile/301/256.
Jankowski, P. (2016). 5 Ways To Break Through The Noise. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/pauljankowski/2016/08/24/5-ways-to-break-through-the-noise/#6c0e37fd1d2f [Accessed 19 Feb. 2018].
Sashi, C. (2012). Customer engagement, buyer‐seller relationships, and social media. Management Decision, 50(2), pp.253-272.
Smart Insights. (2018). Global social media research summary 2018 | Smart Insights. [online] Available at: https://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social-media-research/ [Accessed 19 Feb. 2018].