How social media marketing strengthens relationships with customers
Small business owners understand that building relationships with customers is the key to success. And when it comes to digital marketing, social media offers a way to grow those relationships online. Not only do a majority of Fortune 500 companies use platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to bring attention to their brands1, but 75% of online Americans report that they are more loyal to companies that promote their products on social media.2
“Effective social media engagement can take one positive engagement with a customer and have it resonate throughout an entire community or platform,” says Bethany Case, Senior Digital Sales Consultant at Syracuse Media Group.
Put social media to work
Once you’ve set up your company account(s), spend a few weeks observing how people interact on those networks. You’ll get a better sense of how the platform works, which posts garner attention, and which ones fall flat. Then, start posting yourself.Here are some tips for making the most of your new social media presence:
Look for opportunities to start conversations
If you run a restaurant, you might use Twitter to advertise daily specials. A florist could showcase its best arrangements on Instagram. The owners of a running store might use Facebook to ask people about their favorite running routes, or invite them to post pictures from local races.
Find ways to encourage interaction
Asking questions or hosting contests can be a great way to create a dialog with potential and current customers. For example, Medtronic Diabetes, a maker of insulin pumps, launched a Facebook campaign asking customers to share photos of themselves living with diabetes, and later transformed those pictures into a successful advertising campaign.4 Including a visual component is a great way to encourage people to share your content. One study revealed that Facebook posts that include a video are shared twice as much as non-video posts5.
But don’t be brazenly promotional
Social networks aren’t keen on companies that blatantly ask for likes or shares of their posts. For example, Facebook announced last year that it will de-emphasize content in its news feeds from publishers posting so-called “like-bait.”6 Instead of asking for likes and shares, focus on creating content that speaks to your audience so they’re inspired to take action on their own.
If you find it hard to strike the right tone, consider hiring a consultant or social media marketing team to help navigate this new world. But while the online format is new, the goal remains the same: building meaningful customer relationships. “Social can deepen the relationship with your customers and create brand loyalists like no other medium,” says Case.
If you’re not sure where to begin, Syracuse Media Group has created a free downloadable Digital Marketing Basic Training Guide, with tips, tricks and all the basics of how to get started with this incredibly valuable marketing strategy.
1 http://www.umassd.edu/media/umassdartmouth/cmr/studiesandresearch/2013_Fortune_500.pdf
2 http://www.inc.com/peter-roesler/5-benefits-of-social-media-business-owners-need-to-understand.html
3 https://www.linkedin.com/about-us
4 http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/user-generated-content-roi
5 http://simplymeasured.com/blog/2015/01/05/which-types-of-facebook-content-get-more-shares-and-comments/#i.1g3cc8lmlsde2y
6 https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2014/04/news-feed-fyi-cleaning-up-news-feed-spam/
