Most businesses still treat social media like a giant telephone list. Instead of taking advantage of the revolutionary aspects of the platform, like instant communication with thousands of followers, they just try to squeeze another sale out of their customer base. To market the right way on social media, stick to these three guidelines:
Social media marketing is about the customer experience
Revenue is a terrible indicator of your social media marketing success. Customer loyalty and brand awareness, on the other hand, are two elements that you can foster on social media.
People hate the feeling that they’re being sold to, especially in their personal space. According to a recent Forbes article, you should avoid selling on social media at all costs, and instead stick to serving your customers:
“Products and services are pushed on consumers throughout their day, so if they do not like the way you do business, they will likely be able to easily find a replacement. This is why treating social media as a means to serve the customer, and enhance their overall buying experience is vital to business in the future. By doing so, you have the ability to create loyalty and the ability to communicate your dedication to your customers.”
Maybe not in the short-term, but increasing your customer loyalty and brand awareness will have an impact on your revenue sooner or later.
Social media marketing and SEO work together
Most businesses that practice social media marketing also practice search engine optimization to some extent. Fortunately, these two pillars of online marketing are becoming more compatible.
This Search Engine Land article demonstrates how the relationship between Facebook and Google has grown over time. According to the article, Facebook now allows Google to index certain types of content:
“Facebook has allowed Google to index some of its content going back to at least 2007, when Facebook profile pages were opened up to Google and other search engines. “Indexing” means that Google can read all the content on these pages. In turn, when people search, these pages might appear in Google’s search results…. Over time, Facebook has opened up more of the content is has to Google, such as Facebook Comments in 2011.”
Social signals (likes, retweets, shares), however, don’t play a role in Google’s search results. Still, marketers expect the relationship between Facebook and Google to grow as users and businesses fill Facebook with more content.
Take care of customers and protect your brand
Customers now see social media as a fast way of getting in touch with companies. Businesses should use this as an opportunity to enhance their customer service and interact more with followers.
In addition, Facebook has turned into a platform for customer reviews. Whether you receive positive or negative ones, it’s polite to respond to customers and thank them for their business. You can also repair relationships with unsatisfied customers who have a specific complaint.
Protecting your brand on social media requires proactive and reactive tactics. By creating and sharing quality content with followers, you can establish a good reputation. That’s an example of proactive marketing. On the other hand, you’ll have to react to customers and their comments. This applies to reviews and thoughts that followers have regarding your posts. There’s no exact rule to follow, but you should take some proactive and reactive measures every day on social media.
To improve your social media marketing efforts, start thinking in terms of your brand and your customer experience. The less promotional your tone is, the more you’ll connect with followers and establish customer loyalty. To talk more about social media marketing, or anything else, contact us today.
