In an era where smart watches exist, connectivity is proving to be crucial for any business to reach and communicate with current and potential customers. One of the most effective ways to connect the brand to consumers is through social media platforms. Here are a few tips for stepping up your social media strategy to improve overall business.
1. Cash is king, and so is content.
In order to build brand reputation and convince an audience that your brand is a thought leader within a specific industry, it's important to post, share and tweet relevant content that makes you stand out amongst the chatter. Curating content isn't always easy but it is necessary for a business that wants to establish a brand voice. Think about your customer demographic or the your brand's ideal customer and consider what they would be interested in. For example, you can tweet relevant tech news if you're a technology company or post a review on a specific device to keep your audience in the know.
Tools like Pocket, a place where you can automatically save and store content when browsing online to share later on, can be very useful when collecting various articles, news, pictures, etc. that you think you're consumer would enjoy. By sharing content on a consistent basis, you'll begin to build a brand personality in the digital arena that will translate into customer loyalty and a growing fan base
2. Practice excellent customer service via social media.
Because social media happens in real-time, there's no better platform to communicate with customers and provide them a rapid response to any inquiries or needs. Twitter, for instance, has proven to be an effective channel of communications for customers to either tweet a brand a question or problem or direct message a company through its Direct Messaging channel. Capitalize on these customer service opportunities to further establish a sentiment that you truly care about your customer.
3. Social media platforms are a gold mine for viral campaigns.
Social sharing is one of the best ways to spread the word, not to mention, one of the most cost-effective. When creating promotional campaigns, remember to integrate a social component to it to raise user engagement. T-Mobile does a solid job of understanding the viral potential of social media promotion. It's break-up letter campaign was driven by social media content users would share-the brand generated a letter to a potential customer's current provider that stated they were "breaking up" with them and moving on with T-Mobile as their carrier. With each shared letter, the brand gained invaluable visibility in a viral manner.
4. Leverage analytics to improve.
What's so great about social media is that it gives marketers the ability to collect analytics right away and use to their advantage to help them improve in various facets. You can test timing and content or look at where your consumers click to-all factors that help you understand what is effective among your audience. When campaigns are adjusted accordingly based on data, the results tend to be very favorable.
5. Before all that, make a plan.
You never want to go into a business without making a business plan-it's no different with a social media strategy. Write down what objectives you'd like to meet when you participate in social media with your customers. Building a social media calendar also keeps an organized overview of what is posted and when to ensure everyone is on the same page. Create a strategy even if it's just a simple outline of goals-it will lead you to better execution and work as a backbone for all social initiatives.
Social media has already proven that it's here to stay. It is a powerful tool that will help your brand communicate and establish a strong bond between you and your consumers, ultimately generating better business all around.