If you’ve recently discovered the joys of a business social media account, the chances are that you’re greatly enjoying the conversation you’ve been having with your fans.
However, conversation, much like an overcooked roast dinner, can dry up if you’re not offering anything new. Now, I’m not saying you’re boring (far from it), but you need to be able to continue that rapport that you’ve so carefully built up with your customers. There are many ways of doing this, but here are some of the best:
Exploit your connections:
Email marketing is a powerful way of making sure your customers know what’s happening in your business. Whether you’ve recently enjoyed a company success, you’re about to start your sale or launch a new product, it’s an unobtrusive way of touching base. One email per week should do the trick; any more than that, and you risk looking spammy. Plus, how much news are you expecting your company to have? Enough to fill two newsletters? Unlikely.
Don’t be shy.
If you’ve amassed a large following, the chances are they’re curious about what you do and how you work. Ask your followers if they’d like to see more of how your company operates. Inviting a handful of potential customers to a breakfast meeting or for a few drinks after work at your local bar is a great way of showing them you’re more than just words on a screen; you’re dedicated to excellent customer service.
You already have an eager readership – so write.
What’s stopping you running a company blog, to talk in more detail about how you’re progressing? Blogs give you the space to describe in detail what’s happening with your business; it’s a wasted opportunity to get your voice heard if you choose not to shout about your progress.
Run competitions.
It’s not as tacky as it sounds; giving away a prize via your social media accounts will generate a huge amount of interest, and ensure your name is seen. Try to pick a prize that everybody will want to win, such as vouchers, a weekend away, tickets to a theme park or a hamper filled with goodies. You’re effectively rewarding your followers for their loyalty, so a great prize is a must. Don’t forget to thank people for entering, and respond to any praise you receive.
Seek out ways to communicate with others.
Stop mindlessly scrolling through your Twitter feed, and start looking for tweets that you can use to introduce yourself, or offer advice. Tools such as Twilert can help you meet people, as you can search for people looking for certain phrases. So, if you’re a clothing company, you might want to search for people tweeting about ‘needing new shoes’ or a ‘dress for a party’, so you can directly target these as-yet unknown customers.
Finally, if your staff are running your social media accounts, remember to talk to them about how they’re finding their roles. Weekly meetings to discuss ideas and ways of moving your social media campaign forward are a great idea, as your employees will see that you’re taking social media seriously, and they’ll probably enjoy the opportunity to tell you their campaign plans for the future.
Vicky,
Your advice about social media and email marketing is great. I have experienced some of those dried up conversations. LOL
I have never heard of Twilert. I have not spent much on Twitter, but I think I will give it a try.
Thanks,
Jaden
Great post…the most basic element of success is communication. So often we ignore simple ways to promote our social media businesses…contest along with others like the old tried and true method of email. I like the way you pointed the reader toward creating unique and different ways of communication…thanks.