Marc Mühlenbach, Chief Marketing Officer at Flapit, offers 10 tips on how any business can use social media to engage with customers and build a community.
Chances are, you already use social media. In fact, some 76% of internet users already social networks, according to Pew Research Center.
But, whilst it’s odds-on that you post photos of nights out to Facebook or follow celebrities on Twitter, is your business seeing as much social action as your personal life is?
Social media offer small business owners the ability to directly reach customers, both local and international, giving them the same tools as big corporates. In fact, small businesses may even have an advantage on social as they have less red tape to deal with, no corporate mission statements they have to promote and can just be closer to the heartbeat of their customers.
Here are some tips on how any business can use social media to engage with customers and build a community:
Raise awareness
It’s a noisy world, these days. Not only are you competing with local rivals – thanks to the internet, your competition is now in every town in every country. You may be offering the best product or service there is – but, if people don’t know about it, that counts for nothing.
Social media offer an opportunity to join the crowd, and rise above it. And the messages you put out can really help move the needle for business – according to Adroit Digital, 75% of people say product information from social media actually influences their shopping behaviour.
Boost your search ranking
You may already be using search engine optimisation (SEO) to boost your web presence. Well, social media are a great, free way to do just that.
The way search spiders like Google’s work, the more sites and services that point to your site, the higher it rises in the ranking. So, a Twitter bio bearing your URL will boost your visibility in search, as well as in social.
Signpost content to increase traffic
In Field Of Dreams, Kevin Costner was dead wrong when he said: “Build it and they will come.” A fancy website means little without in-bound traffic, just like a high street shop is nothing without footfall.
If you create compelling content on your website, tweets or status updates can be used to signpost users directly to it. So get creating, and don’t forget to share your page addresses.
Flag up your best deals
Drive purchases for your products or services by talking about how great they are in specific social updates, whether they sit on your own website or third-party marketplaces.
However, make sure to keep in mind the “80-20” rule of keeping blatant promotions and sales efforts to a minimum: use just 20% of your content to promote your brand and dedicate 80% to content that really interests your audience and engages them in conversations.
These days, some of the social networks even allow users to click to buy right there in the app, without even needing to visit a website, using a “buy” button. That is a great opportunity to capture customers from inside the social stream.
Show your personality
Drop the telephone voice – people want to do business with people, not corporations. Social media allows companies to show the real character of their owners and operators, making friends and contacts with real customers and prospective buyers.
Don’t over-do the sales tactics mentioned above. Sometimes, you have to let your business talk about your favourite music, a sunny day in the park or your view on local news. It all builds a picture of a company someone wants to follow – and, one day, buy from.
Gain insights and use them to your advantage
Where are your customers? How old are they? What gender? In the days when shopping precinct store owners knew their every shopper, that information may have been easy to come by. But businesses that perform online retail may never so much as see their customers.
Fear not – analytics services built in to the likes of Twitter and Facebook, also available at greater depth from third-party companies, offer a window into the true profile of your followers. Having this information makes it easier to know what kind of content to give your social fans.
Reward loyalty
If I told you that customers could elect to receive a regular sales call or flyer from you, I’m sure you would jump at the chance. Well, that is what social media represent in the digital word.
Every day, followers opt in to hang on your every word. They are choosing to be one of your most loyal followers and biggest fans. That is a tremendous opportunity, so cultivate that relationship with great content.
Gather and respond to feedback
Every business owner needs to know how they are doing. As many a Twitter user will attest to, the internet can be only too ready to call a spade a spade. So, whether it is customer service issue, or you want to know how last weekend’s two-for-one offer was received, social media are the channels where customers can tell you straight.
Do your market research
Every business should make decisions based on informed facts about the chances of possible success, not just gut instinct.
Are you thinking of launching a new product, or want to test the market for pain points and opportunities? Surveys delivered by social media allow business owners to poll real people, to better understand followers before taking the plunge.
Get media exposure
Believe it or not, social isn’t all about social. That is to say, journalists follow businesses in social media, too. So, your top priority is not social media but public relations, social channels are still a great way to snag journalist followers, engaging reporters in a way that can ultimately score column inches.
By Marc Mühlenbach
Chief Marketing Officer
Flapit