It’s become increasingly clear over the last decade that social media is not some kind of fad or trend that’s going to disappear anytime soon. Instead social media has fundamentally changed a lot of things about the way in which people interact with the world both on and offline. Because of this, there are few businesses out there who still don’t realise that social media is something that they need to adopt when it comes to marketing themselves. However, since it’s still a relatively new medium when compared to other forms of marketing, there are plenty of businesses who don’t seem to understand the full potential of social media as a new and exciting method of interacting with customers. They use it to post updates and adverts about their products sure, but they tend to ignore the thing that makes social media so interesting and valuable: the social aspect. Your ability to communicate directly with customers has the potential to completely change the dynamic between you and them. Here are a few things that you can do to really make the most of this exciting new marketing method.
Create dynamic and engaging content
The worst thing that you can do with your social media pages is to use them as a method of simply spreading your existing advertising methods. With a new platform, you should use new methods and techniques. Content is king in the world of social media marketing. Don’t just post ads and special offers. Use interesting content to make people actually care about your business. Use sites like EyeEm for high-quality images to add to your content as well as engaging with customers on an emotional level through things like humour, references, and memes. Be helpful and creative. Social media should not be all about you. A good ratio is 20% about you and 80% about them.
Make things personal
One thing that social media does that no other marketing method has really done before is offer you the chance to really get up close and personal with your customers. You’re able to reply to comments that they’ve made on your posts, engage in humorous conversation and really make them feel as though you value them as a customer. This way, rather than feeling as though you’re just talking to a large audience, each customer feels directly connected to your business in a way that no other marketing technique has ever allowed before.
Use customer service as marketing
Not only can you use your social media sites to connect more directly with your customers, but you can also turn every interaction into its own piece of marketing. Even something as simple as customer service can become marketing opportunities. If a customer contacts you via a site like Facebook or Twitter with an issue or a complaint, you can publicly reply to their tweet as a part of your customer services. This means that the support and help that you’re offering a customer is something that all of their followers can see. This way you’re able to demonstrate the quality of your business’s customer service, and how much it cares to a massive audience. Things that might once have gone on behind the scenes are now entirely public, meaning that you can turn just about anything into a marketing opportunity.
Photo Credits: Pixabay, Pexels
Great post, Chantal! Thanks for sharing. 🙂