As we bid a fond farewell to yet another calendar year, there are a lot of things for us to be thankful for. Technology, for one, has enabled brands of all sizes to reach audiences they would never have been able to touch just a few short years ago. Of course, much of this engagement is powered by the awesome force of social media. With social media, businesses have the ability to interact with people, directly engaging potential customers on a personal level.
Social media enables you to build bolder brand awareness, optimize customer service experiences, and start conversations unlike ever before. You have the world at your fingertips, and once you learn how to harness the best practices of this engagement engine, you'll be ready to take the new year by storm!
1. Increasing Brand Awareness
Social media empowers you to extend your brand image into other channels that really resonate with the majority of today's audiences. By utilizing the power of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and the rest, you can meet your audience in the places where they're actively choosing to engage with brands on a daily basis.
All businesses—small and large—need to focus on bolstering brand awareness as part of their key objectives in their marketing strategies. If you've struggled to hone in on your target market, let 2019 be the year you explore the endless ways you can see and be seen on the social media scene. This is your time to get personal with the people who are most likely to care about the products and services your business is touting.
To make the most of your social presence, incorporate a few best practices:
- Start conversations with your audience. By definition, social media is a place to socialize. Your audience expects to hear from you, so don't just re-tweet other people's posts or share a funny meme you saw on another thread; showcase your own company's talents by way of videos, blog posts, and photos that'll get people talking.
- Don't just run away once you've said what you have to say; come back and join in the conversation when you start to get comments. This is how people learn what your business is really all about and helps with reputation management.
- Create shareable content that makes your followers ask questions and engage with you. It's all about being interesting while revealing valuable information that'll make your audience see you as a credible company that's worth their time (and money).
- Be human. This is Engagement 101. Nobody wants to talk to a robot on the other side of the screen. Take the time to be a human, and the people on the other side of the screen will reward you.
2. Interacting with Your Fans
Building brand awareness is all about engaging with people who don't know you exist yet, but what about the folks who have already proven themselves to be loyal fans and followers?
Interacting with your fans is an important part of the customer retention process. Social media enables you to humanize your brand and put a voice to it in a really amazing way. No other channels really give you the option for continued interaction with your existing customer base. Through conversations, photos, and live or pre-recorded videos, you're able to convey messages in a whole new way.
In 2019, social media can be a game-changer for your current customer base.
3. Improving Customer Service
Social media is a powerful tool that allows brands to communicate and engage with their clientele, and it opens up new ways of providing superior customer service. On the most basic level, you're providing individual customers with a more natural customer service experience. Instead of making a phone call or coming to the store location, it’s an easier way for them to connect. For many customers who are on social media throughout the day, tweeting at a brand with a concern is easier than sending an email.
In other words, offering this additional avenue for customer service makes it much more likely that you'll hear a customer's issue and be able to respond to it—just make sure you stay on top of your accounts and respond in a timely fashion!
On another level, having these important customer service conversations publicly can dramatically help your brand's image. (See Rule #1 above.) No matter how on top of things you are, you'll have dissatisfied customers at some point. And, while responding to them and addressing their concerns in private is important, it's even better if such conversations are held in public on social media. Why you might ask? By publicly addressing any issues, prospective customers can easily see that your brand is one that cares about its customers and their satisfaction, helping with reputation management.
Don't start the new year off without a team of social media gurus by your side! At Zero Gravity Marketing, we can't wait to ring in 2019 with tons of social experiences. If you're ready to put our team to work for you, reach out to us today!
Connor Francis
