Increase social media interactions with your brand

August 4, 2016 Social media

Social media is a very powerful tool for business. Almost everybody is using it in some way and it is free unless you opt into paid services such as promoting posts. We list the top tools for bettering your social media use.

Listen to Customers Even if There isn’t a Direct Request

Even if someone mentions your business in a post that doesn’t require an answer, like a query or complaint would, it can be beneficial to respond. From this, even onlookers who are not directly involved in the interaction can form a personal connection with the brand.

An example of this is a grandma Googled the polite search ‘please translate these roman numerals mcmxcviii thank you’ and her grandson was amused by it and shared it on the social media platform Twitter. The official Google Twitter account responded with the following:

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Respond in a Timely Manner

Fast responses can do wonders for customer service and brand loyalty. An interested customer may message a brand on Facebook with a simple question, like opening hours. By responding to these promptly means the brand is active and care about their customer interactions. Customers will favour a brand who responded quickly when compared to one who may take a couple days.

Some people may post complaints about your brand on your social media. If effectively dealt with, the person/s involved and onlookers can form a strengthened brand loyalty. If a complaint is left on the page and nothing is done about it, the original poster will just grow annoyed with the brand and you could most likely lose them (and whoever else they tell) as a customer. By neglecting comments and not responding at all leaves a negative impression of your business for both the person involved and onlookers. It shows poor customer service and could seem like the business is not interested in that customer or potential customer’s query.

A recent entertaining example of responding to a complaint in a positive way is Officeworks. One of their branded trolleys had been left in someone’s front yard. The homeowner contacted the local store asking for it to be collected, though time had passed and it remained in his yard. He took it a step further and posted about it being ‘homeless, cold, and lonely’ on the official Officeworks page. He photographed ‘Trevor the trolley’ in a series of situations, such as taking his dog for a walk and mowing his lawn. This post and related comments drew a lot of attention to the brand. Eventually the trolley was collected and the Officeworks business even staged some photos themselves! They gave the trolley some hot chocolate to make him feel better and had him playing football with some fellow trolleys. Everyone fell in love with Officeworks and Trevor. See the original post here.

Humanise the Brand

This can be achieved by adding a name to the end of a post or comment (usually of the person replying). By adding this, it makes the replies from, for example, the Facebook page more personal and makes the customer feel like they aren’t talking to a robot. Personalised customer service can greatly benefit your social engagement.

An example of a brand who uses this is Telstra’s 24/7 Facebook page. When another Facebook user asks a question, the customer service representative directly addresses the customer with their name in the opening greeting and signs off with their name. Below shows an employee doing this to a customer question.

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Here at theroom we love social media. Check out our packages page to see what could work for your business objectives.