Digital marketers obsess over their brand’s follower count on social media. The race for likes, retweets and shares is seen as their most valuable metric and something to hang their hat on. This week, we’re going to argue this is a flawed approach to social media.
The real metric marketers should be striving for is – How many of those followers did I successfully turn into a customer?
Social Media is undoubtedly an essential part of a multi-disciplinary marketing plan. The problem is, most companies simply aren’t doing it well. It’s not enough to use it as a broadcast medium for your products. Or, even worse, to use it as a platform to deliver the hard sell. Customers hate this. In fact, most will run a mile from it. Turning your social media followers into customers isn’t difficult. Especially if you follow the tips below:
Know Your Target Market
Each social post you put out to the world should have one unifying theme in common: It’s pitched directly at your target market. This level of care doesn’t require a massive time investment on your part. Start by researching and developing your ideal customer persona. Who are they? What makes them tick? Secondly, what social media platform are they most likely to spend time on? If your ideal customer is a millennial, focus your efforts on Instagram. If you’re marketing to those of a more senior disposition, Facebook or LinkedIn should be your go-to. Finally, understanding your target market allows you to maximize the efficiency of any marketing spend you conduct on social media.
Treat Your Account as a Community Forum
Our next point deals with ways you can make followers feel special and valued by your business. Nothing is more effective at achieving this aim than being acknowledged. Feel free to retweet or repost posts from your followers. If they’re shared an interesting blog or piece of content, give them a shout out. If you encourage your followers to talk about you and show you’ll respond, the effect will snowball and you’ll soon build a loyal community and a warm feeling around your brand. While followers have long tuned out broadcast ads from businesses, they still react well to recommendations from their peers.
Take Your Customer Service Public
Good customer service has never been more important. In fact, it’s often the deciding factor that sways a customer toward your business. If a follower reaches out on social with a customer service query, go above and beyond in your efforts to help them. Alongside this, make sure you reply promptly. A quick reply that solves your customer’s problem is invaluable at building a good feeling around your brand and will send your reputation sky high!
Authentic is OK
Ultimately, it’s perfectly fine to show a little personality. Stop trying to fake a persona in your social media posts. Be real with your audience and the results will follow. People are remarkably skilled at sniffing out a phoney. People are more likely to do business with businesses they know and trust. The gold standard for building this relationship is to be real. Be authentic!
Need Help?
GD Commerce works with several clients on their social media, delivering sustained increases in leads and conversions. Let’s meet for a chat and talk about raising your social media game.
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