Crafting the right social-media presence shouldn’t be left to chance, but carefully and strategically planned. Consider these seven suggestions to better connect with fans and leverage your online influence.
- Pursue meaningful engagement. Dish up informative or helpful content the consumer will appreciate, and apply a liberal dose of non-depreciating humor. Eventually, your open-communication strategy will attract oodles of fans.
- Dispense helpful information. Do strive to consistently and meaningfully engage an audience through dishing up informative or helpful content consumers will appreciate. Eventually, this open-communication strategy will cultivate a loyal fan base.
- Listen to the consumer. This won’t be a difficult task, as many are extremely forthcoming with what’s most important in their lives. Acknowledge the shopper’s opinions and concerns, embracing both the good and the bad. That includes harsh or critical feedback. Don’t shrink back from an irritated customer, who has shared an honest opinion online about your business. Instead, warmly and sincerely reach out to him or her. Often, adding a small dose of humor diffuses the situation. Sprinkle on a touch of self-depreciation in your response. That usually smooths those ruffled feathers.
- Take negative comments in stride. When facing those less than flattering posts, take a step back and consider what you can glean from the encounter. You might want to offer a counterpoint in which you attempt to rectify the issue at hand. Sometimes, simply taking a moment to acknowledge another’s opinion or answer questions directly bridges those gaps in communication, which could threaten ongoing relationships with your customers.
- Always be genuine. Falsehoods will come back to bite you in a big way. Given the medium’s more affable nature, social media exchanges should not be stiff or unduly formal. Aim for a respectful interchange with customers and build a positive relationship with your audience.
- Think before you post. Heeding those four words will spare your company a lot of embarrassment. When in doubt, follow this rule of thumb: Every post or status update you share should add value for your audience: A helpful tip, sage advice to steer clear of a danger, or an informative bit of data that spares another person a loss. That value could be transmitted in the form of an educational interchange, an opportunity to provide a dose of entertainment, or simply a call to action.
- Brevity is key. You have only a few seconds to catch a social media user’s attention, and even less time to keep it. This calls for posting news or tips that have an immediate impact. Use pithy language, and link to references or visuals. Infographics also give you a golden opportunity to transmit a lot of information in a easily digestible format.
