4 Steps to Enhancing the Customer Experience with Social Media
Social media has been the “buzz” in marketing practically since its inception. And while your business should absolutely be utilizing these channels as an integral part of your marketing strategy, it’s time to move past thinking about your social media pages and handles solely in terms of marketing with the goal of customer acquisition.
You need to use social media to enhance your customers’ experiences with your brand. It’s time to delight.
Set the stage: Engage your customers, don’t bombard them
While some less savvy companies might think of their social media accounts as a publisher of free ads, this is not the case, thanks to the ever-declining reach of organic social content. Besides, no one is delighted by an endless deluge of promotional materials, after which you might find people tuning you out, and probably, unfollowing you.
When creating a content calendar, you need to consider what your social media followers likely expect to get out of following you. They probably want to hear about sales and promotions; maybe they like to find out about new products the moment they launch; or they might be interested in news from your industry.
In addition to occasional sales messages, you should be showcasing your culture and creating a conversational environment where customers feel welcome to provide feedback. Ask for their opinions. Instagram’s new poll feature in Instagram Stories (aka Snapchat 2.0) is a prime example of a fun way to engage your customers in a genuine way while learning about their likes or dislikes.
Pro tip: To add a poll to your Story, use the “Poll” sticker from the stickers menu. Here you can enter a question and two response options. When users view your story and respond, they see which option is in the lead. Story creators can later view respondents by viewing the Story and swiping up.
Dealing with customer service inquiries and feedback
Consumers are increasingly making their purchase decisions online — from researching, browsing and purchasing goods and services all the way through use of the product or service. It follows that they’re also taking their customer service inquiries online. If they bought from you online, it’s all the more likely that they’ll expect to engage with you online post-purchase.
For retail stores, customers have no quicker, easier way to connect than through social media. And when they do contact retailers through Facebook, Twitter or some other platform, they’ll likely do it publicly. This comes with its own set of challenges. But marketers of businesses that sell products or services online should consider it first and foremost an opportunity.
You now have the chance to showcase your customer service and delight a customer publicly. Of course, that also means the stakes are raised. Below are four key tips for dealing with customer service inquiries and feedback through social media.
