Social media might be the most valuable tool businesses have in their toolbox today. If you use it strategically, you can connect with an endless supply of potential customers.
In this guide, we’ll discuss how your brand can build and maintain lasting relationships on social media. When you do, you’ll become the go-to business people think about when they need the product or service or service you offer.
1. Know Your Audience
As a marketer, your job is to know what problems your product solves so that you can find the people who have that problem.
The way to do this on social media is to watch and listen to what people are saying. This practice is called social listening.
It’s kind of like eavesdropping without actually getting involved in your audience’s conversations. You’re monitoring relevant communities, hashtags, and keywords to stay informed about your industry.
Social listening tools are used to collect comments about your brand, competitors, and industry. As a business owner, you can use that information to learn about your ideal customer’s changing needs and adjust your marketing approach.
You can fill those needs by posting relevant articles, links, and products. Your brand will gradually earn a reputation for having the solutions to your target audience’s problems.
2. Choose Your Voice
It sounds basic, but a lot of businesses miss this one.
Every company has a “voice” connected to its brand. Speaking to your audience with the right voice will help you communicate with them better.
Will yours be informational? Casual? Friendly but professional?
Yes, it matters.
Take these major corporations, for example, and consider the voice of each one:
- Nike’s voice is encouraging and motivational.
- McDonald’s has a family-friendly voice that’s geared toward saving people time with good food.
- National law office Morgan & Morgan’s voice is always professional, but “for the people.”
- GEICO insurance is known for being professional but friendly and humorous.
Your brand’s voice has a big impact on how people view it. The right social media voice will attract the right audience and can help you build long and lasting relationships.
3. Make Your Customer Service Stand Out
Your social media presence is part of an ongoing electronic footprint your business carries with it.
Customers will head to your page to discuss their experiences with your products and services. Use your social media as a customer service tool to respond to all comments — the positive and negative ones.
Most consumers aren’t going on your page to complain just because they want to give your brand a bad reputation. They want you to solve their problem so they can feel like they got their money’s worth.
If you can solve their problem, it’ll show the public that you care about your customers.
Don’t forget to show appreciation for positive feedback, too! Lots of businesses focus on fixing problems but ignore compliments.
When your audience sees that you recognize people who leave honest feedback, they notice. This makes them more likely to take the time to leave their own comments.
4. Personalize Your Interactions
People love personalized communication, especially with a person that not everyone has access to. Your business is one of these, even if you don’t think you’re “that big” yet!
Building your brand through personalization is a quick and easy way to grow. If you see a birthday come up, take a few seconds to respond. If someone shared something interesting in the comments, reply to it and tell them how you felt about their comment.
No matter how big your business gets, monitoring and engaging in those feeds is essential. In fact, many companies hire social media marketers to do this for them because they know it pays off!
5. Show Them You’re Real
Going behind the scenes every once in a while and letting your audience see your personal life is one of the top ways to build relationships.
Make sure the footage you share matches your brand’s voice as much as possible, but don’t be afraid to get silly from time to time.
Stay professional, but let them see the bloopers, milestones, and major events. Maybe your business is celebrating an anniversary, or maybe one of your employees had a birthday or a baby. Show your audience pictures and let them celebrate with you.
This can increase engagement and spread your brand further than it might have otherwise. And it’s easy to do, as long as you keep what you’re sharing in line with your image.
Conclusion
To create a successful business online, search engine optimization, CRM analytics, and all those other buzzword activities are important. But social media marketing is a way to build long-lasting relationships with your audience.
When you engage with your followers and make your brand visible on social platforms, your image becomes more recognizable.
If you’re ready to start becoming a household name, use these tips to build your brand on social media.
Author Bio
Adam Marshall is a freelance writer specializing in all things apartment organization, real estate, and college advice. He currently works with Reserve Carrollton to help them with their online marketing.
