Are Social Media Influencers Right for My Brand?

One of the more recent trends in marketing that has become a staple for businesses online is the use of social media influencers to recommend and sell products. Building an audience on social media can be difficult for struggling brands that need to get the word out about what they do. Social media influencers provide an outlet for businesses to more easily reach people on social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

Some brands might see social media influencers and the impact they have but wonder whether it will really work for them. Do social media influencers work for every type of brand? It is in fact possible to find the right influencer for your brand as long as you know who your target audience is and where to find them.

The myth that social media influencers and the platforms they use are only for millennial audiences is not true. Older generations use social media and can also be influenced by recommendations online but you need to find the place where your demographic “hangs out”. Social media influencers can have a tremendous impact on your brand if you use them to your advantage.

Understanding Social Media Influencers

The reason businesses are so interested in social media influencers is that they often speak directly to a large audience online. Influencers have built up their own following simply by being themselves and creating interesting content that people want to see. Their followers tend to listen to what they say and trust in their taste because it always comes across as completely genuine.

Even though followers of an influencer may feel that this person recommends products based on their own positive experience, the reality is that many are paid to promote certain brands. However, people see them as an authority in their field of influence and because of their existing relationship with their audience, influencers can have an affect on people’s purchase decisions. Social media influencers have a larger than normal following, but also usually have a niche audience that they are speaking to.

A common and increasingly popular example of a social media influencer is the “beauty guru”. This is a person on YouTube or Instagram that has been recognize by their followers as having special knowledge or expertise in makeup or beauty related products. They often test out new products, create tutorials or find creative ways to review or talk about beauty items.

Social media influencers exist in all kinds of different niches and as long as they are seen as an authority on a certain topic, people will be influenced by what they say. An influencer could be a celebrity, an industry expert, a content creator or just everyday people that become well-known online. No matter what type of brand you have, there is most likely an influencer that can help you promote your products or services.

Identifying the Right Influencer

How do you find an influencer that works for your brand? The first thing to think about when looking for a social media influencer is what you consider to be your brand message. You need to know beforehand what you want to say about your brand and what you want people to know.

In addition to developing your brand message you also need to know who your target audience is and what kinds of things they are looking for. Your target audience needs to be both people you want to reach and those who are more likely to be interested in purchasing your products. You don’t want to waste effort marketing to an audience that would have no need or no interest in your brand.

Once you have a better idea of your target audience you will need to find an influencer that has many followers in that audience. This doesn’t mean looking for an influencer with the most followers but looking for someone that matches your brand the most and speaks to the right demographic. Your influencer should share a similar message to your brand and an audience that is more likely to buy from you.

A great way to start looking for effective influencers is finding people that already like and mention your brand online. When someone genuinely loves your company their message is going to feel more authentic to followers and they won’t see it as an advertisement. If they are already interested in your brand then it is more likely they are good fit as far as their message and the type of content they create.

When you find the right social media influencer you will be able to have a direct channel to communicate with your target audience. Start developing relationships with social media influencers now so that you can create more loyal fans online.

The post Are Social Media Influencers Right for My Brand? appeared first on SEM Blog.

source https://www.emarketed.com/blog/social-media-influencers-right-brand/

5 Reasons a Podcast Will Help Your Business Marketing Strategy

Staying relevant in modern advertising means finding a way to reach people that doesn’t always follow traditional marketing. New options such as podcasts can give businesses the opportunity to communicate with their target audience and let them know why their product matters. Staying ahead of competition means telling a story about how your product stands apart from the others and podcasts offer a way for businesses to do that.

Podcasts usually don’t include regular commercial breaks as there are on the radio so their advertising messages often become part of the program. This can make the message about the product seem more natural and authentic in a way that listeners are more likely to respond to. In addition to your regular written and visual content, podcasts can be a great kind of audio content to include in your marketing strategy.

These are some of the reasons podcasts can help your business.

1. They are Easy for People to Consume

Audio content is one of the most accessible types of advertising content for potential customers. Instead of having to read lengthy text or keep their attention on a video, podcasts deliver the information quickly and easily. Users don’t have to shift their focus away from what they were doing to pay attention exclusively to your content.

People can easily listen to podcasts while they are driving, exercising, or working without it taking their attention away from those activities. Even though they are easy to access and consume, podcasts can also be highly engaging. Audio content can often be a welcome break from the monotony of other types of content that people are constantly bombarded with online.

2. They are Inexpensive and Simple to Create

There are not a lot of steps involved in making a podcast and the equipment required for making one is reasonably priced. All you need for a podcast is a good quality microphone and headphones and editing software that will allow you to record and produce the content. The editing software is often free online and simple to use even for people with no experience.

Making a podcast can also be much less time-consuming than other types of written or visual content. All you need to do is record yourself speaking naturally. You might prepare some talking points before hand but podcasts are typically not scripted. After recording you can do some minimal editing and your podcast is ready to be put online.

3. They Help You Stand Out from Competition

Because podcasts are a relatively new form of advertising, you can benefit from having less competition. You can create your own podcast for a niche audience and depending on the topic, you may not have to worry too much about competing for listeners. It can help you stand out from your competitors because you offer something that none of them do.

4. They Increase Traffic

One of the main reasons businesses should get involved in podcasts is that they offer a way to reach out to new audiences and build up a bigger fanbase. With a podcast there will be a wider range of audience that becomes familiar with your brand and your products. You are exposing your brand to potentially thousands of listeners for free essentially.

You can quickly start to acquire more customers through podcasts and bring more traffic to your site because at the end of each episode you can include call to action or CTA. You can tell listeners the link to your landing page, email subscriber or any other tool that you think will be the most helpful in bringing in new customers. Each time you include a CTA you will see more traffic on your site and more email subscribers from interested listeners.

5. They Help Build a Relationship with Your Audience

Not only will podcasts bring in more customers, they can help create loyal followers that care about your brand. Audio content tends to be more personal and when people hear you speak they will get to know your personality and your genuine passion about what you do. As you discuss relevant topics people will feel more of a connection than they might with other types of written or video content.

Listening to your voice makes it easier for followers to like and trust you because they feel like they know you better. That trust that you develop can improve your brand image and help people become more in tune with your company. People will naturally feel more drawn to your business and will be interested in what you are doing.

Podcasts can act as a great supplement to your existing marketing strategy to start building up an audience of listeners that learn to care about you and your brand. With simple audio equipment you can start talking to potential customers and seeing the positive results.

The post 5 Reasons a Podcast Will Help Your Business Marketing Strategy appeared first on SEM Blog.

source https://www.emarketed.com/blog/5-reasons-podcast-will-help-business-marketing-strategy/

How Important are Brand Values in Your Marketing Strategy

The way that you market your brand can involve much more than increasing numbers of sales and customers. Your marketing strategy is also a way to present an image of your brand in the mind of your target audience. How do you want your audience to interpret the core values of your brand and what your company is really about?

Brand values are a permanent part of your business even while advertising strategies, logos and products are constantly changing. Your values define your company in ways that potential customers can identify and connect with. A business that focuses on their brand values will be able to communicate more effectively with a coherent message through their marketing plans.

If you haven’t taken some time to think about what your brand values are then it might be a good idea to consider what your company represents and what you want your audience to know about you. Brand values matter because customers are constantly interacting with brands online and through social media. They need to understand your brand image and see more than just a picture of a product in order to become loyal followers.

What are Brand Values?

At the core of every company should be a set of brand values that influence everything from their brand’s look, voice, message and relationships to customers. Your brand is more than just your logo and visual identity, it involves your company’s personality, purpose and overall mission. Without brand values guiding your message your company will just seem like any other business vying for people’s attention.

A good way to start developing a set of brand values is to think about what is important to you and your business and make a list. You can think about what you care about, the negative things about other brands you want to avoid and the experience you want your own customers to have. Brand values can also mean standing for something that you feel your company can offer people.

Brand values can be any number of things that people associate with a company and their products. Does your brand focus on making natural and humane products? Do you donate a portion of your profits to charity? Do you care about innovation and change or social issues?

Your brand values don’t necessarily have to mimic another established brand in order to be successful. They need to be true to your company and what makes your products or services unique. Once you have made a list of what your brand cares about and what you stand for you can condense it down to one or two phrases that truly define your brand values.

Including Brand Values in Advertising

Once you have determined your company’s values and the image that you want to present to your audience, you can start working on communicating this message. It is important to remain consistent with your values and represent them in every way that you possibly can so that people recognize and remember what your business is all about. Being consistent about your values at all times can keep your brand more trustworthy and reliable in the minds of customers.

Being consistent about your message does not necessarily mean that all your ads and social media channels need to look exactly the same. You can have variety in your marketing strategies but make sure that your core values are reflected in the voice and message of your ads and social media posts. The look and imagery of your brand may continue to evolve but the values they communicate should always remain the same.

Whenever you are designing an ad or working on your marketing plan, you can use new and interesting ideas but also think about how they are related to your values. When you write taglines, text for your website, social media posts and other messages make sure your values are somehow reflected in what you say. Your values are what will help people remember you and they will begin to associate positive qualities with your business.

A company’s brand is much more than just external aspects that present an image or a voice. People will be willing to pay more for a brand that represents values that they agree with or care about themselves. A business that stands for something is more likely to win loyal customers and their message will spread to a bigger audience.

Looking at other successful company’s ads can give you an idea of how their values are represented in everything they do. When you understand how brand values are at the center of every advertising strategy it will help you develop your own technique and skills in marketing. If you always consider your brand values you will create more relatable and effective ads that speak to the people you want to reach.

The post How Important are Brand Values in Your Marketing Strategy appeared first on SEM Blog.

source https://www.emarketed.com/blog/important-brand-values-marketing-strategy/

Are Groups The New Pages For Facebook?

This January, Mark Zuckerberg dropped a bombshell for marketers on his Facebook page:

“[W]e’ve gotten feedback from our community that public content — posts from businesses, brands and media — is crowding out the personal moments that lead us to connect more with each other…” As a result, the company is “making a major change to how we build Facebook,” starting with the “News Feed, where you can expect to see more from your friends, family and groups.”

For most marketers, these changes weren’t necessarily a surprise. Facebook’s been doing this for years, slowly weeding out content from public pages in favor of posts from family and friends. What was notable about this announcement, however, was Facebook’s advocacy for groups, in addition to the usual suspects of family and friends.

The inclusion of groups got marketers thinking… are groups the new pages for Facebook?

Can you rely on Facebook Groups?

Even if you’re already eagerly visualizing your brand’s big debut into Facebook groups, you’re probably feeling at least a hint of trepidation along with your excitement. You’ve been beaten down over the years, with each algorithm bringing a new blow to your organic reach on Facebook. It only makes sense that you’d be wary about doubling-down on groups only for Facebook to change its tune later on.

While nothing can be guaranteed in the ever-changing social media landscape, there are some clear signs that you can trust Facebook’s making a serious investment in groups and they’re here to stay (at least for a little while).

Although it feels new, Facebook’s focus on groups has actually been brewing for a little while. In mid-2017, Facebook held its first Communities Summit for Group Admins in Chicago.

What precipitated this event? According to Zuckerberg, “We recently found that more than 100 million people on Facebook are members of what we call ‘very meaningful’ groups. These are groups that upon joining, quickly become the most important part of our social network experience and an important part of our physical support structure. For example, many new parents tell us that joining a parenting group after having a child fits this purpose.”

Then, this February, Facebook followed up with a Communities Summit in Europe that hosted over 300 group “power admins.” At the event, Facebook announced many of the initiatives they’ve launched based on feedback from the first summit, and continued gathering important feedback and ideas from the elite group for future releases.

What can you do with Facebook Groups?

If you haven’t paid attention to Facebook Groups in a while, you can do a lot more with them than you may realize. Facebook’s made strides to nurture engagement in groups and offer admins more advanced management tools on par with what you see with brand pages.

Engagement features

Last October, Facebook introduced two new features that enhance and personalize the community experience of groups.

1. Welcome posts invite group admins to tag new members by name:
2. Clicking on a member’s name heavily emphasizes their group activity, along with the normal things they have in common with the person who clicked (as opposed to the default search on Facebook, which shows the common interests alone):

Changes like these make group members feel closer than a random stranger on Facebook, inviting more engagement.

Facebook knows that both groups and their Facebook Live video feature boast spectacularly high engagement rates – so they decided to combine the two with their new Watch Party feature. Group admins can choose a public Facebook video for their group to watch at the same time. It’s like simultaneously watching a video together and commenting on it with your friends.

Admin tools

The first sign a social platform is starting to care about a demographic is when you see it adding analytics features that rival the ones they offer to paying advertisers. You’ve seen this most recently with Snapchat’s recent concessions for influencers. Facebook’s new suite of tools for group admins is more sophisticated than ever, and significantly streamlines group management.

Group admins can now easily manage everything from a central administrative dashboard, including viewing insights and approving new member requests. Up to 10 group announcements can be pinned to the top of the page. Group rules, similar to what you find on Reddit, now have a dedicated section.

Facebook also recently expanded their Group Insights tool to include “helpful personalized tips, like scheduling posts at times when members are most engaged.” If that sounds a lot like the insights available to Page owners, it’s because it is.Other, small changes reveal Facebook’s recognition of the importance of group identity when it comes to engagement. For example, admins can now personalize their group pages by selecting a color scheme. This feature isn’t even available to regular profiles!

Developing your brand’s strategy for Facebook groups

If you want to have any organic reach on Facebook as a brand, groups are the way to go. Here’s how to go about it the right way.

Posting in groups

It’s no coincidence that Facebook’s groups now share many similarities with Reddit. Group admins have a lot more power. Custom color schemes put the group’s identity first, before Facebook’s own blue branding.

As such, brands should expect group members to treat their Facebook groups with the same fierce loyalty and protection you see on Reddit.

In order to succeed with groups, it is absolutely essential that brands tread lightly. Engage first before promoting (if you promote at all), and always engage authentically. If you don’t, you won’t just risk low engagement. You’ll risk very public ridicule and shaming.

Brands can post in groups as a Page. This maintains your professionalism, but it also keeps your brand faceless. To add humanity to your brand, consider leveraging the personal brands of your employees. They can work in tandem with your Page account to share official announcements, answer FAQ, and participate in discussions related to your industry.

Creating your own branded groups

You can also create your own branded Facebook group via linked Groups. These help your fans stay connected to your company through Page-branded groups featured on your profile.

Plenty of branded Facebook groups have enjoyed success on Facebook, but there are just as many half-hearted efforts that failed. To make your branded group one of the former, consider the following three things before you create your group.

1. Set your goals.

Is it sales? Then you’ll want a small group for prospects that’s highly cultivated by your sales reps who answer questions and make them feel like VIPs.

Maybe you have a team of brand ambassadors, and your email newsletter isn’t proving effective. A group just for them might work.

If you want a larger public group with the potential to grow, focus on a topic related to your industry. This will be about engagement, driving brand visibility and demonstrating thought leadership – not pushing your products. But, your efforts will result in higher group engagement, improved brand perception, and indirect boosts to your customer retention and sales.

2. Define your audience.

Depending on the topic and size of your audience, it may make sense to have several groups for different goals. For example, if you’re trying to enter a new vertical, establishing your thought leadership through a branded Facebook group is a great choice.

If your brand speaks to multiple verticals, or widely variant types of users, consider creating multiple groups. The more personal and niche you can be, the better.

3. Plan your logistics.

Assign the team members who will be responsible for managing the group and fostering engagement. Set up the rules. Develop a content calendar like you do for all your other channels.

For your group to succeed, you need to have a plan and keep it alive. Especially in the beginning, as the onus will be on you to make it worthwhile for fans to stick around.

Using group features

If you decide a branded group is right for you, leverage the tools at your disposal. Personalize your group with a color scheme, and make it friendly with Welcome Posts. Keep it lively with regular Group Announcements. Make the rules of engagement clear with Group Rules, and enforce them so it stays a safe space.

Group Insights provide many of the same insights you rely on to optimize your engagement on your brand Page. Use them to:

• Discover the best times to post for optimal engagement.
• Attract more members. Fully complete your profile to increase your chances of showing up in people’s searches for related keywords.
• Understand your audience better – both for the tone and content of your posts in the group itself, as well as broader market research applications.
• Find new potential groups to join. Recognize demographic interests among your most engaged users. Similar people might be interested in hearing from you but just haven’t heard of you quite yet. Search for groups related to those interests.
• Analyze your popular posts to give members more of what they like. Coordinate Watch Parties around topics your fans care about. Share exclusive content for group members..

Facebook groups: the path to meaningful interactions

In an increasingly pay-to-play social media landscape, Facebook Groups offer your brand the opportunity to interact with fans organically. Just make sure those interactions are meaningful.

Michael Quoc is the founder / CEO of Dealspotr, where brands, shoppers, and influencers can connect on the first social platform centered around today’s best promo codes. Previously, he was the Director of Product Management at Yahoo’s media lab, where he led the launch of several innovative services in the live video / mobile social networking areas. Michael has been awarded nine patents relating to mobile and social network applications and technology. Tweet him at @michaelquoc.

The post Are Groups The New Pages For Facebook? appeared first on SEM Blog.

source https://www.emarketed.com/blog/groups-new-pages-facebook/

How New Facebook Changes Could Impact Social Media Marketing

Recently Mark Zuckerberg, the owner of Facebook announced that he would change the site’s algorithm to begin to promote more personal content rather than news or other types of posts. That means that the average facebook user will see more posts from family and friends in their newsfeed and less from brand posts with few comments. Facebook has stated that this algorithm change will have no direct impact on how advertising works on the site but businesses are expecting some definite changes in their organic reach.

New Facebook regulations on data could mean that Facebook users will see less material from media outlets and businesses that show up organically in their newsfeed. Brands that typically rely on their organic social media marketing practices may have to focus more on other strategies or adjust their techniques in order for followers to see their posts as often as they would like. Some are predicting that social media influencers will be more important than ever in order to get the word out about new products on Facebook.

Brands can benefit from learning more about the new algorithm, how it affects an individual Facebook user’s newsfeed and what they can do to counteract any negative effect it will have on their social media marketing. It would be a mistake to assume that the changes won’t have any impact on your marketing plan because you could begin to see a drop in organic reach. Putting your social media efforts into a variety of different strategies can help prevent the change from drastically affecting your brand.

Social Media Newsfeed Changes

Zuckerberg’s intention with changing the Facebook algorithm was to minimize that amount of fake news articles that had been circulating on the website and causing deep political rifts online. Facebook at one point had these type of news articles getting the most shares and engagement in a way that reinforced people’s existing beliefs. Zuckerberg made the algorithm change in spite of the risk of losing short term user engagement so that friends and family would interact with each other instead of sharing divisive content.

While the algorithm will be great for personal interaction, it may be problematic for businesses that are hoping to reach people organically. People on Facebook will see less posts from businesses they follow if they are not paid ads and are simply natural posts. Instagram is also starting to use an algorithm that looks similar to Facebook’s so it is likely that social media sites will show less organic content from brands and businesses and more from friends and family as the year progresses.

The good news is that influencer posts won’t be affected as much as brand posts because social media influencers are posting with their own personal account. Even though they are promoting various products, they are also normal people that Facebook and Instagram won’t recognize as a business. It will become more important than ever for brands to partner with social media influencers who can get their content seen by a bigger audience online.

New Marketing Impact

In the past, sites like Facebook and Instagram presented content in chronological order but with changes in algorithms over the past few years the sites have more control over what content is viewed by users. The algorithm Facebook introduced in 2016 as well as this new algorithm both are designed to limit the organic reach of certain pages. It means that businesses need to focus more on paid ads in order to have their content seen by a large audience.

Companies that focus more of their marketing strategies on paid ads as well as influencer marketing will not be impacted as much by the algorithm change. Businesses with an existing understanding and relationships with influencers will probably see their marketing strategies succeed. Facebook has made no changes to paid ads and will allow brands to purchase advertisements that are guaranteed to be seen in a user news feed.

It will be a good time this year for brands that have no experience with influencers to become more familiar with how the system works. It is important to figure out what your brand’s niche is and which influencer has a lot of existing followers in that niche. The influencer needs to be able to blend your brand or product narrative seamlessly with their own in order for you to see the most benefit.

Even though it might be alarming to businesses to discover that their organic reach is likely to take a big loss, it doesn’t mean that social media marketing will be much more complicated or less effective. It simply means adjusting where you focus your marketing strategies and taking the new algorithm into account. As long as you are aware of how the algorithm works you can use the right kind of marketing tools to keep boosting your business.

The post How New Facebook Changes Could Impact Social Media Marketing appeared first on SEM Blog.

source https://www.emarketed.com/blog/new-facebook-changes-impact-social-media-marketing/

The Benefits of Voice Search Marketing

While your marketing plan might encompass different types of platforms such as social media, google advertisements and mobile optimization it is also important to consider voice search. While most people focus their marketing on desktop and mobile searches, they fail to realize that voice search is growing in popularity and it is becoming more crucial than ever to include it as part of a marketing campaign. Voice search is only going to grow more important over time and marketers need to start developing their voice marketing strategies now to stay competitive.

Internet trend reports show that 20% of mobile searches were made using voice search in 2016 and that number only continues to rise. With new products and more refined technology, digital assistants are becoming a more typical and frequently used household item. Companies like Apple, Microsoft and Amazon all have their own versions of digital assistants that deliver information to users quickly and effectively.

Technology companies and retailers are noticing the growing trend and starting to take advantage of voice search popularity. Companies like Walmart are providing options for customers to shop using a digital voice assistant. As retailers recognize the importance of voice search, businesses need to incorporate it as a part of their optimization campaign for better marketing results.

Optimizing for Voice Search

Now that one in five searches are made using voice search, it is part of the average person’s daily life. SEO marketers may already realize that optimizing for voice search is slightly different than optimizing for a traditional search. That means they will have to adjust elements of their strategy if they want to reach people doing a voice search.

By 2020 voice searches are expected to account for 50% of all online queries so that means some serious changes to the way marketers optimize. Voice search assistants such as Siri or Alexa keep track of the way people search and their personal data in order to deliver customized user experience. People often prefer how quickly they can search for something and get the information they need.

One of the reasons that voice search optimization is different from traditional SEO is related to the way people search for things using their voice. Since people can simply talk to their voice assistant instead of typing in questions, they tend to use more natural language. That means your usual keywords and phrases might not be effective for voice search because they don’t reflect the way a person would ask a question out loud.

As people shift to voice search more often than typing out their queries, marketers will need to adjust their keywords to include question words such as “why, how, what and where”. While these are usually omitted from a typed in search, they are more often present in a voice search. Marketing specifically for voice search with these terms will mean that your business will be available as one of the results when someone asks their personal assistant for a product or service related to yours.

Being Available to Customers

One of the positive things about voice search is that people tend to use it when they need something specific and immediate. People are more likely to use a desktop search for something that they want to research and spend some time looking into. A voice search helps them make a quick decision about an item they need to buy or some relevant information.

People involved in a voice search are more ready to make a purchase than those researching information on a desktop. They are looking for products or services that they need in the moment such as a nearby restaurant to order dinner or some household supplies that they need to replace. Optimizing for voice search means that your company will be at the top of the results when customers want to make a purchase.

As more and more people begin to rely on digital assistants and other voice search options, businesses will need to make sure they incorporate strategies for voice optimization so that they aren’t left behind. Only optimizing for desktop keywords means you are missing a significant portion of the searches that could potentially bring customers directly to you. Focusing at least some portion of your marketing strategy on voice search could mean bringing in new customers on a regular basis.

Marketing online is so competitive it is important to always stay ahead of the game and voice searches are the newest trend that is likely to become a staple of internet advertising. Spending some time and investing in voice search optimization will help you reach more people and gain more loyal customers. When your company comes up in the results of a voice search you will be able to quickly increase brand recognition and sales as well.

The post The Benefits of Voice Search Marketing appeared first on SEM Blog.

source https://www.emarketed.com/blog/benefits-voice-search-marketing/

5 Tips for Interacting with Customers on Social Media

 

In the marketing world today social media is bigger and more important than ever before. Brands need to have a great social media presence and a part of that is making sure that you connect and engage with customers so that they remain loyal and interested in what your company is doing. People online expect great customer service along with interesting and engaging content which means interacting with customers whenever you can.

Interacting with customers can mean responding to comments, re-posting their content or having a conversation online through direct messaging. Customers want their voice to be heard especially if they have questions, concerns or issues with your brand. Even light jokes or humor can be a great way to connect with customers so that they have a positive image of your brand.

Customer interaction on social media can be a crucial aspect of marketing. Here are 5 tips for interacting with customers online-

1. Be Prepared to Always Respond

If people online want to communicate with a brand you need to make sure that you are always available to respond to them. Make sure to have social media staff that can read comments and write an appropriate response in a short amount of time. Customers don’t like being ignored and will be more interested in a brand if they can communicate with them in a timely way.

2. Have an Official Response for Major Concerns

Even though many of your interactions with customers will be positive, at times there will be genuine issues that you need to address. When customers have complaints or major concerns about your product or service you will need to respond in an appropriate way. If you have an official response prepared for these situations you are less likely to deal with too much backlash.

The most important thing is letting customers know that their concerns are being heard when they have questions, a complaint or are alerting the company about a particular issue. You should have a response that directs the customers to more information so that they can have a better understanding of the issue and how to deal with it. Having a prepared response can make it easier to respond quickly and efficiently to each customer so that they aren’t waiting too long for an answer.

3. Post User-Generated Content

Aside from responding directly to comments, there are other more creative ways to interact with customers that will keep them engaged and boost the positive opinion of their brand. Posting content that users have created can get people more involved in your social media site and excited about your company. When your content is created by customers it makes them feel that they are part of the topic and add value to your brand.

An easy way to find user-generated content is to hold a contest asking followers to post photos with your product and provide a prize for the best photo. This not only gets people to know your brand better but it also gives them incentive to share photos of your products and spread the word about the company. Followers will have more of a reason to love your brand and connect with you.

4. Avoid too Much Promotional Content

In order to get users to engage and interact more with your brand it is helpful to avoid making every post about self-promotion. Obviously the goal of social media is to promote new products and market your brand but followers will get bored and lose interest in your page if it is too heavily promotional. You will need to be more creative and conversational to get people to respond positively to the content that you post.

You can create posts that simply ask questions, talk about life matters, or discuss current events so that content is not always focused on selling something. Sparking a conversation is the best way to get people to interact with you and remember your brand. As you attract more people through engaging content you can add in the occasional promotional post to push your products as well.

5. Track Your Interactions and Look for Patterns

An important part of social media is making sure to analyze the results of everything you do to see what works and what doesn’t. Take the time to track the kinds of interactions you have with customers to see what gets the best response. Keeping track can also help you ensure that you are always responding to customer concerns and don’t leave any question unanswered.

Analyzing which posts performed the best and which comments got the most positive response can help you tailor your social media presence. You will be able to learn how to adjust your technique and get the most out of your interactions online.

The post 5 Tips for Interacting with Customers on Social Media appeared first on SEM Blog.

source https://www.emarketed.com/blog/5-tips-interacting-customers-social-media/