Social Media and Connecting With Your Consumers

Being present in the online world is something which is often overlooked and regularly deemed as an afterthought for many business owners as there aren’t perceived tangible benefits of using social media to propel the company to success.

This mindset needs to change. We live in a digital world – connecting with your customers needs to be a vital aspect of your strategic plan to dominate your sector.

Imagine walking into a little boutique to receive no welcome, no communication from any member of staff and your queries unanswered. Unsurprisingly, this would leave quite a bitter taste in your mouth. Would you make a purchase from this store? We all have certain expectations of the level of social interaction that should be received in the ‘real’ world – and this is exactly the same with your social media.

When you apply this to your website, it’s vital that your customers are able to get in contact with you to put forward queries and get to know the company. You establish brand loyalty by being open with your client base. Lacking the tangible aspect of something you can hold in your hand, that you can see, there can be a certain level of uncertainty. It being possible to research, discuss, and granting that two-way conversation breaks down those barriers which can form when there are two monitors between yourself and your audience.

To combat this, it’s imperative that you make the most of your social media. There are so many channels you are able to reach out through and many tools which can take some of the pressure off. Take a look at our tips and tricks below:

Know Your Audience

First and foremost, it is important to consider who exactly it is that you are reaching, as one demographic may be more susceptible to a certain approach than another.

An effortless way to discover who you’ll be speaking to is through the use of Google’s Analytic tools. Look into how old the majority of your traffic is. Are a higher percentage of male, or female? Are they local? What device are they accessing the site through? These can all impact the tone you will need to use, the information you need to push out into the web and the best message you want to reach your customers with.

Tailor Your Message

Once you understand the type of person you will be engaging with, you are able to determine the message you are going to use to target your demographic. You’ll need to understand what your unique selling points are in the eyes of the audience, so you can ensure you are communicating what needs to be heard, in the way that it will be best received.

Timing Is Key

You will need to take into consideration the time that is best to reach your desired audiences. Once you know your audience, you’ll be able to determine the best time to push out communication so that it will reach the largest selection of people possible. For example, will you be able to engage with consumers within office hours? How often are your audience active on social media? Those of a certain age, their natural routine is to wake up and check all social accounts for 15 minutes to catch up on the latest news, life-or-death updates, marriages and breakups they might have missed out on overnight, but in contrast working mums may only be reachable on their lunch hour and after 8pm on an evening when the kids are in bed.

A comment offered up regularly in regards to the maintenance of Social Media accounts is that ‘I know it’s important, but I just can’t find the time when I could be managing other things’. However, there are tools now available that allow scheduling of media posts, so that you can go about your normal business day uninterrupted knowing that the prepared posts will be fed out on time, only needing to pause and respond to the odd query on your breaks to keep the client happy.

Increase Your Traffic

Not only does Social Media allow you to engage with your existing business, but it also opens up the company for so many new opportunities in terms of increasing traffic to site via social referral. Now, providing that you have managed to target the appropriate audiences with an honest and engaging message, this traffic is also likely to convert and be retained long term.

Receive, React, Respond

Social Media can also be an added level of customer support. A huge part of social interaction in the online world is allowing for a two-way conversation between business and consumer. Giving your audience responses to their questions can remove any doubt that may occur.

Receive: Leave yourself open for client queries. Whether this is a compliment, query or complaint, it is important that feedback is able to be given so that the customer feels confident that they are heard, whilst you also receive honest accounts of interactions which you can take on board.

React: React to your customers. Take on board their feedback, positive or negative, and resolve any issues as quickly and thoroughly as possible.

Respond; Endeavour to respond within 24 hours to any query, so that your users are happy, trust you as a company and are firm in the knowledge that any issue will be dealt with as a priority. Social media is an effective ‘firefighting’ method on top of its many other benefits as you are able to demonstrate how efficiently you can provide your consumers with a resolution so that they are happy.

I still don’t have time… can you help?

We’d be more than happy to. With the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we understand that maintaining another level of communication can seem a little overwhelming. If you’re ready to step up your social game and want a helping hand, drop us an email at [email protected] or say hello at 01324 361729!