When you look at the brands that are doing social media right, you’ll notice one thing – they all have a following of loyal customers. Loyal customers who choose them time and time again, even over the big names who have famously dominated the marketplace.
Why? Because those are the clever brands. The brands that have built trust and formed relationships with their customers. They are the ones who have taken advantage of the opportunities that social media presents.
Any business, no matter the size or industry, has the potential to create and grow relationships on social media. Here’s my tips on how it can be done:
Provide Customer Service
It’s now easier than ever before to get in contact with once seemingly-untouchable brands. Why would a customer pick up the phone and choose lengthy call wait times (and terrible hold music), or the uncertain reply times of email, over the immediacy of social?
There’s no reason why your customer’s query, question or complaint can’t be resolved via social media. Studies have found that 64% of consumers using Twitter expect a response within an hour – a brilliant opportunity to quickly and efficiently prevent potential escalations from occurring and increase customer satisfaction.
There’s no need to divert customers to another service channel, as demonstrating that you can resolve negative feedback in a few posts will portray your brand as being transparent and proactive. Just make sure that when you ask your customer to confirm personal information they do so in a DM. Always give honest responses too, there’s no harm in admitting when you’ve made mistakes.
Humanise Your Messages
People like to do business with people, not cold corporations. Using a tone of voice that shows personality will help to build a strong connection with your customers.
Write in a way that resonates with your customers. Communicating with emotion, like excitement or empathy, or showing that you have a sense of humour will work to increase engagement and encourage conversation. Use everyday language that your audience is familiar with – i.e., if you’re talking to millennials, avoid jargon and don’t be afraid to throw in the odd emoji or two if it’s relevant!
It’s also a good idea to make the people behind the brand visible – your customers will be able to relate far better to a team member’s face than a mystery responder. If you don’t like the sound of uploading photos, then sign your messages off with a name so people have a better understanding of who they’re talking to.
Create a Community
Why pay for promotion when you can get brand ambassadors to do it for free? When your customers have respect and trust for your brand, they’re much more likely to recommend you to others.
Social media is the prime platform to create an engaged community and conversation is key. Ask your audience questions or for their opinions on your products or services – one sure fire way to make them feel appreciated is to show them that their feedback is valued. Run polls for quick insights into what they like and dislike or facilitate user-generated content by asking them to upload their own photos – anything that encourages involvement.
The important thing is to keep the conversation going. You wouldn’t cut a conversation off mid-flow in person, so why do it on social media when there’s potentially thousands of others watching? Listen to what your audience is saying and produce content that keeps them chatting. Good conversation will provide you with content ideas your customers will love too.
The Aquamarine team are always happy to chat through your social media struggles and share advice on how to get the most out of your accounts. We also provide completely free audits so please get in touch today to arrange yours!
