Social media is more important to businesses today than ever before. Businesses see the value of social media, as evidenced by the many tools available to help users build and grow their audiences. But, as in most cases, there is more than one way to accomplish a task. And while using social media to gain customers may seem pretty straightforward, keeping them engaged once you have them is a different matter.
-
Personal Branding Is Essential
Customers can smell desperation from a mile away. To grow your business by targeting customers on social media, you must develop a personal brand that customers can trust, like, and enjoy interacting with. You wouldn’t go into business with someone you didn’t trust, would you?
If you don’t have an established personal brand in your industry, now might be the right time to create one. If you want to grow your customer base and keep them engaged, establish a personal brand that is consistent across all your communications and start building trust with your customers right away.
-
Use Video
With video, you can provide more information in less time and allow viewers to engage with you directly. One customer engagement technique that video allows for is watching, reading, and responding to video content in real-time. While the video isn’t for every business, it’s an excellent tool for some industries, particularly where you want to establish yourself as a thought leader or provide step-by-step instructions on completing a certain task.
-
Content Is King
No surprise here. Content is king. Make sure that your content is consistent across all your platforms. If you’ve established yourself as a thought leader in one area, ensure that your content also serves as a guide for other areas. Create something that is a “must-read” for anyone who cares about your industry.
A blog post is a much easier way to engage with potential customers than a lengthy product description on a company’s website. Customers will often click through to a product’s page merely to get more information, but once there, they’ll often leave without making a purchase. By contrast, someone who has stumbled upon your blog post about an accountant will be much more inclined to follow up with an action, like filling out a contact form or making an appointment with the firm.
Furthermore, as a content manager, you can rest assured that customers will continually return to your blog for more information. The content you put out will always be there for them to read, whether you choose to update it regularly or not. So, even if your product or service is fairly new and undergoing change, your published content will still be applicable and useful to customers. Keeping customers engaged, satisfied, and coming back for more is key to a healthy business.
-
Be Professional
It’s always a good idea to portray a professional image when handling social media for your business. After all, you’re representing an organization that is, in some way, authoritative in your field. Ensure that your social media usage reflects this authority by avoiding slang and using appropriate language throughout your post. For example, if you’re using a phrase such as “lols,” you might want to reconsider using it in your Tweets or Instagram posts, as it could be considered inappropriate. You could argue that “lols” isn’t even a real word, so it’s not a good idea to use it in your writing!
Similarly, if you’ve been posting about your fun weekends or summer vacation, keep the content consistent by posting during the week about your workweek. Customers will appreciate the consistency and assume you’re a serious businessperson rather than just a fun-loving person who owns a barber shop!
-
Monitor And Measure Results
It’s important to monitor your performance on social media and adjust your strategy accordingly. The key is to measure the results of your efforts and watch for any patterns that emerge. If you’re not measuring the results of your efforts, it’s difficult to know if you’re succeeding or failing. But by taking the time to look at numbers, you can see exactly how effective your campaign is and determine what changes you need to make to have a positive impact.
If you’re just starting out, it’s a good idea to measure the success of your social media strategy using key performance indicators (KPIs). To begin, looking at your average daily reach is a good idea. This simply refers to the number of people who saw or heard your content, on average, per day. You can also look at your monthly active users. This is a decent indicator of how many people interact with your content, even if they don’t necessarily see it daily. In addition to these two numbers, you should look at your mentions. This refers to the number of times your name or brand was mentioned, on average, per day. Your mentions should not exceed three to five per day. If you’re mentioned more than five times per day on average, you’re likely overusing the platform and, consequently, hurting your results.
A strong personal brand and high-quality content are the foundation of any successful social media strategy. With that in mind, it’s time to get creative and use the tools available to you to grow your customer base, engage with your audience, and build trust while maintaining a consistent personal brand across all your platforms! Good luck out there.
-
Switch From Face-To-Face To Online Customer Engagement
Since the beginning of time, humans have had to deal with the issue of how to engage with customers who browse and purchase products online. Companies have tried numerous strategies to see which works best, from live chat on a store’s website to establishing an FAQ section on social media. While many factors determine the effectiveness of a particular tactic, one important consideration is the type of content published online.
For example, if you’re selling shoes, you might want to hold an in-house shoe festival where you give away free pairs of shoes. However, if your product is something as intangible as a service, you could try using value propositions to guide your content strategy.
A value proposition is a promise of what your product will do for the customer and the features that make it useful. In the case of a service, you could, for example, state that your dental service will restore your smile or that your accountant will process your taxes easily.
By putting forth a value proposition for the intangible products you sell in online marketplaces, you give potential customers a reason to engage with you. Customers already well into the purchase process might not need convincing, but those interested in your product or service might still be wondering what it can do for them. So, you can either hold a shoe festival or post a blog to introduce yourself to future customers.
In today’s world of information overload, consumers have less time to browse through dull product descriptions and overloaded social media feeds. As a result, they’re turning to websites and apps that provide quick, concise content in an easily consumable manner.
If you’re selling shoes, you might want to hold an in-house shoe festival where you give away free pairs of shoes. However, if your product is something as intangible as a service, you could try using value propositions to guide your content strategy. A value proposition is a promise of what your product will do for the customer and the features that make it useful. In the case of a service, you could, for example, state that your dental service will restore your smile or that your accountant will process your taxes easily.
By putting forth a value proposition for the intangible products you sell in online marketplaces, you give potential customers a reason to engage with you. Customers already well into the purchase process might not need convincing, but those interested in your product or service might still be wondering what it can do for them. So, you can either hold a shoe festival or post a blog to introduce yourself to future customers.
-
Live Chat
Even for a product as basic as a pair of shoes, you might want to include instructional videos, FAQs, or an in-house expert’s blog post on how to wear and care for the shoes. But what if you cannot fit customer service inquiries into a timely blog post? Live chat is one answer; it allows you to engage with customers in real time when and where they need it most.
Live chat was initially developed for online shopping carts and later adapted for websites and apps. Live chat allows website visitors to ask questions directly to an operator via text message or phone call, while those on social media can share questions and get answers via live chat.
If you’re selling shoes, you might want to hold an in-house shoe festival where you give away free pairs of shoes. However, if your product is something as intangible as a service, you could try using value propositions to guide your content strategy. A value proposition is a promise of what your product will do for the customer and the features that make it useful. In the case of a service, you could, for example, state that your dental service will restore your smile or that your accountant will process your taxes easily.
By putting forth a value proposition for the intangible products you sell in online marketplaces, you give potential customers a reason to engage with you. Customers already well into the purchase process might not need convincing, but those interested in your product or service might still be wondering what it can do for them. So, you can either hold a shoe festival or post a blog to introduce yourself to future customers.
Live chat allows you to engage with customers when and where they need it most. Even for a product as basic as a pair of shoes, you might want to include instructional videos, FAQs, or an in-house expert’s blog post on how to wear and care for the shoes. But what if you cannot fit customer service inquiries into a timely blog post? Live chat is one answer; it allows you to engage with customers in real time when and where they need it most.
Social Media Increases Customer Engagement
If you want to improve your customer experience and grow your business, social media are a perfect place to do it. By interacting with your customers on social media, you are more likely to satisfy them, gain their trust, and increase the chances of converting them into paying customers!
