Through social media channels, organizations have the opportunity to interact with customers in a way that is positive and meaningful. Businesses can relate to customers where they are and in the moment.
Customer-focused social media efforts begin with a commitment to listen. Your brand can monitor social media sites to see what people are saying about your organization. Even more important is being available to listen to what people are saying to your organization.
Social media provides an opportunity for your brand to provide an immediate response. If someone reaches out on Twitter or Facebook, they may be hoping that they can bypass the usual channels (customer service phone calls, etc) to get quick results.
Once you have listened, you can respond. By connecting with your brand on a social media site, customers show their investment and commitment to your organization or product. At that point, your organization has an opportunity to nuture and solidify those commitments, cementing customer relationships.
Using social media channels to maintain a focus on customers can be that simple: listen and respond.
Here are a few questions to consider:
What is your organization doing to interact with customers through social media channels?
Who is involved in your organization’s social media efforts?
How are you personally involved with social media?
What can you do to add value to your organization’s efforts?
How can your personal involvement with social media contribute to your organization’s efforts?
Even if you are not directly involved in social media within your organization, you can add value by entering conversations with customers about your brand. If your organization has a Facebook page, you can interact with customers there, commenting on posts or asking questions. If your organization has one (or several) Twitter accounts, you can promote and support the work of the people interacting with customers on Twitter.
Join the conversation!
What is your organization doing to respond to customers through social media channels?
How can you add value to those efforts?
This was originally posted at Mountain State University LeaderTalk and is reposted with permission.
I am the founder/CEO of the Weaving Influence team, the author of Reach: Creating the Biggest Possible Audience for Your Message, Book, or Cause, and the host of the Book Marketing Action Podcast. I’m a wife and mom of three kids, and I enjoy running, reading, writing, coffee, and dark chocolate.