Modern businesses continue to discover that sites like Facebook and Twitter offer a fantastic opportunity to connect with customers. Social media has changed the way that brands communicate with their target market, but some companies continue to make mistakes. Clued-up customers have a very clear view of what they want to see on social media, and if you get it wrong, you can seriously damage your brand. Make sure you keep your customers happy on social media by maintaining these four key requirements.
Privacy
Customers are still very wary about how businesses use their data on social media, and you must make sure that you never abuse people’s trust. Make it very clear to your customers what you intend to do with their data, and keep it as simple as possible for them to opt in or out. Don’t try and fool your customers into signing up for something they don’t understand. You may see an initial boost in customer interest, but you will quickly alienate people in the longer term.
Personality
Sites like Facebook aren’t very effective if you insist on sticking to a very corporate line. If you want complete control over everything that people say about your products and services, you probably shouldn’t bother with social media. Your customers don’t want to interact with a faceless, corporate drone. Make sure that there is a face behind your social presence, and that your followers feel as though they always interact with a real person. If your brand goes cold, your customers will quickly follow.
Creativity
It can feel as though there’s always a competition to do the next most inventive, creative thing on the market, and the truth is that you can’t keep your customers happy for long if you don’t mix things up. Social customers want to see creativity, and sites like Twitter and Instagram thrive on the most interesting, ingenious ideas. Keep looking for new ways to do things, and try not to fear failure. You won’t always get everything right, but as long as you are willing to fail fast and move on, your customers will still appreciate what you do.
Value
Your customers are busy people, and you are competing in a crowded marketplace. If you want to see benefits from your social activities, you need to make sure that your customers see the value in your brand. Offer useful, insightful content, and respond quickly to what your followers tell you they want to see. Look for opportunities in every situation, and think carefully about how you can continue to give your customers what they need, even if they aren’t sure what that is. You have to make it worth your customer’s time to visit your social network pages.
With so many pages to visit and so many brands to follow, it’s increasingly difficult for customers to make the most of their time on social networks. Many brands build pages without really knowing what they’re trying to do. Keep your customers engaged by putting these four qualities at the center of everything you do on social media.
photo credit: Jason A. Howie via photopin cc
