Social media has become an undeniable force in today's business world.
According to Sprout Social, 55% of consumers learn about new brands on social
Social is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with potential customers worldwide, showcase your brand personality, and ultimately, turn them into loyal brand advocates. But how do you leverage social media effectively with a limited budget?
Here are some actionable tips to help you grow your audience and build lasting relationships:
Tips to grow your audience through social
1. Building Stellar Customer Service
Platforms like Instagram and Facebook offer built-in direct messaging features. Dedicate a team member or set specific times to actively monitor and respond to customer inquiries. This allows you to address concerns promptly, demonstrate responsiveness, and build trust with your audience. Remember, a happy customer online can quickly become a brand champion, spreading positive word-of-mouth through reviews and recommendations.
Tips for Providing Great Customer Service
Be Prompt: Respond to all comments, messages, and mentions as quickly as possible. Aim for within 24 hours, ideally much faster for urgent issues.
Acknowledge All Inquiries: Even if a customer's message doesn't require a lengthy response, acknowledge it with a friendly message and let them know you'll be with them shortly.
Engage in Conversation: Don't just provide canned responses. Take the time to understand the customer's issue and have a genuine conversation to resolve it.
Be Helpful and Patient: Remember, the customer might be frustrated. Use a calm and helpful tone, and be patient even if they are upset.
Maintain Professionalism: Even in informal settings like social media, maintain a professional demeanor. Avoid using slang or unprofessional language.
Transparency is Key: Be transparent about any issues or delays. If you can't resolve the issue on social media, offer to move the conversation to a more private channel like email or phone.
2. Craft a Compelling Brand Voice
Develop a consistent brand voice that reflects your company's personality across all social media platforms. How do you create a brand voice?
Understand Your Brand Identity
Mission & Values: Start by revisiting your company's mission statement and core values. What are you passionate about? What principles guide your business? Understanding your core will influence the tone and message you want to convey.
Target Audience: Who are you trying to reach? Consider their demographics, interests, and online behavior. Tailoring your voice to resonate with them is crucial.
Brand Personality: Imagine your brand as a person. What are their characteristics? Are they playful and friendly, or sophisticated and authoritative? Defining your brand personality helps you develop a consistent voice.
Identify Your Voice Archetypes
Informative: Focuses on providing valuable information and educating the audience.
Authoritative: Projects expertise and trust, often used by established brands in their field.
Conversational: Creates a friendly and relatable tone, ideal for connecting with younger demographics.
Humorous: Uses humor and lightheartedness to engage the audience.
Luxurious: Evokes a sense of sophistication and exclusivity, often used by high-end brands.
Reine Your Voice
Choose Your Tone: Will your voice be formal or informal? Serious or playful? Consider which tone best aligns with your brand personality and target audience.
Language & Style: Identify the kind of language you'll use. Will you employ jargon or keep it simple? Will you use short, punchy sentences or more descriptive language?
Voice Examples: Craft a few sample posts or messages in your chosen voice to see how it feels and ensure it accurately reflects your brand identity.
Maintain Consistency
Brand Voice Guidelines: Develop a brand voice guide that outlines your chosen voice characteristics, tone, and examples of how to use it in different contexts (e.g., social media posts, email marketing). This ensures consistency across all communication channels.
Team Training: Educate your marketing team and anyone involved in creating content for your brand about your brand voice guide. This ensures all messaging aligns and reflects your desired voice.
Monitor & Adapt: Pay attention to how your audience responds to your brand voice. Be open to adjusting and refining your voice as needed over time.
People gravitate towards authenticity, so let your brand's unique personality shine through in your content.
3. Running Engaging Contests and Giveaways
Contests and giveaways are a fantastic way to generate buzz and boost engagement.
Create a collaborative giveaway by working with other local businesses to not only boost your audience but uplift others as well.
Encourage participation by offering exciting prizes relevant to your target audience.
Utilize features like "Like this post, tag three friends, and share to your story for a chance to win!" on Instagram to maximize reach and encourage social sharing.
4. Sharing Valuable Content
Creating the right content is vital to connecting with your audience and growing it. Here's how to do that:
Understand your audience and what type of content they are looking for. You can do this by establishing a buyer's persona and experimenting with different types of content.
Establish yourself as an industry expert by sharing informative content like blog posts, infographics, or even short explainer videos that educate your audience about your products or services.
Do thorough keyword research! It is now important to add keywords to your social media captions as well as utilizing popular, related hashtags.
5. Be Present, Be Consistent
Show You Care: Actively engage with your audience by responding to comments and questions, participating in relevant conversations, and even running polls or Q&A sessions. Consistent engagement demonstrates that you value your customers' opinions and fosters a sense of community around your brand.
Plan and Conquer: Develop a content calendar to ensure a steady stream of fresh content and maintain a consistent posting schedule. This keeps your brand at the forefront of your audience's mind and allows you to experiment with different content types to see what resonates best.
6. Run Social Media Ads
Consider allocating a small budget to targeted social media advertising. This allows you to reach a wider audience, promote specific content or offers, and drive traffic to your website.
Do:
Target the right audience: Don't waste ad spend by blasting your message to everyone. Use social media's powerful targeting options to reach people who are most likely interested in your product or service. Consider demographics, interests, and online behavior.
Craft compelling visuals: Eye-catching images and videos are crucial for grabbing attention in a crowded social media feed. Invest in high-quality visuals that align with your brand identity and resonate with your target audience.
Write clear and concise copy: Your ad copy needs to be clear, concise, and persuasive. Highlight the benefits of your product or service and include a strong call to action (CTA) that tells viewers what you want them to do next (e.g., visit your website, learn more, make a purchase).
Test different variations: Don't settle for the first ad you create. A/B test different variations of your ad copy, visuals, and targeting to see what performs best. This helps you optimize your campaigns for maximum impact.
Track your results: Use social media ad platform analytics to track your campaign performance. Monitor metrics like impressions, clicks, conversions, and cost-per-acquisition (CPA). This data helps you understand what's working and identify areas for improvement.
Offer valuable content: Don't just promote your products in every ad. Offer valuable content like educational articles, tips, or behind-the-scenes glimpses into your brand. This builds trust and establishes you as an industry expert.
Retarget website visitors: Many social media platforms allow you to retarget people who have already visited your website. This can be a highly effective way to stay top-of-mind and convert website visitors into customers.
Don't:
Use irrelevant or misleading visuals: Don't use stock photos that don't accurately represent your brand or product. Deceptive advertising practices will damage your brand reputation.
Write longwinded or confusing copy: People are busy scrolling. Keep your ad copy short, sweet, and to the point. Avoid jargon and technical terms that your audience might not understand.
Neglect your landing page: Your ad should lead to a relevant and well-designed landing page that delivers on the promise of your ad. A confusing or poorly designed landing page will turn potential customers away.
Set unrealistic expectations: Don't expect overnight success with social media ads. Building a successful social media ad campaign takes time, testing, and optimization.
Ignore negative feedback: Pay attention to comments and feedback on your ads, even if it's negative. This can be valuable insight into how your audience perceives your brand and your message.
Run ads without a clear objective: Before creating an ad, define your specific goals (e.g., brand awareness, website traffic, lead generation, sales). This will help you tailor your ad campaign for maximum effectiveness.
Neglect mobile optimization: Most social media browsing happens on mobile devices. Ensure your ads are optimized for mobile viewing and deliver a seamless user experience.
Building strong relationships with your customers on social media takes dedication and consistent effort. By following these tips and putting them into action, you can create a powerful online presence that attracts new customers, fosters brand loyalty, and propels your business towards success. Remember, social media is a marathon, not a sprint. Be patient, be strategic, and above all, be social!
