Marketing to customers these days can feel a bit messy. A business has to be involved in marketing methods all over the internet, including social media, email, a website, review sites, and more. Even just when it comes to social media, a business might be confused about exactly which sites to work with and what methods of advertising on those sites is going to be most worth it. Unfortunately, even if it feels messy, social media marketing is essential to reaching your audience, but where are you supposed to start? Here are some things to know.
Artificial intelligence is the new normal
In the last few years, artificial intelligence (AI) technology has gotten better than ever making it extremely valuable to businesses. With that in mind, most businesses have begun to adapt artificial intelligence in their marketing departments making their efforts more efficient and more effective. The technology will analyze data and give recommendations on what businesses should post and how that content will be received by their audience. An AI chatbot can communicate with customers who are chatting with the business. In fact, most customers don’t even realize they’ve already been speaking with chatbots regularly in the last year or so. So it is the new normal for businesses to have and use AI technology and is expected of your business too, especially as we dive into 2018.
Take advantage of influencer marketing
People love social media so much because it makes it easier than ever to reach out to friends and businesses and get recommendations on what to buy. Social media users can complain when a business does something wrong, and they can easily ask for recommendations from friends when they want something new. On top of that, it is easy to follow people on social media platforms who have similar interests and trust in their recommendations. That’s why influencer marketing works so well. Even though a customer knows it is an ad, they still trust the influencer wouldn’t market a product or service they didn’t really believe in. Plus, it gives your business an easy way of reaching a whole audience that may not even know your exist.
Focus on interactions
The main goal for a business on social media should be to create meaningful interactions with customers. A business should focus on sending out tweets or posting on social media questions that will engage the customer and get them interested in talking. Sometimes, just posting about a new product can get customers excited. Other times, asking a yes or no question such as, “Are you ready for summer?” can get a lot of engagement with customers.
Look at the reviews
Because social media is such an easy way to complain or brag about a company, people will do so. It is also important to note that a customer is much more likely to talk about your business when they are mad than when they are happy. There will be a lot of reviews from customers who are angry, and your business needs to figure out what to do with them. Social media is a double edged sword because it gives people the chance to complain about a bad experience they’ve had in a public forum, which no business wants. However, it also gives your business the opportunity to show customers how you handle those situations publicly. Look at the reviews, and use it as an opportunity to show you care about customers and want to make it right when things go wrong.
You can’t take it back
The most important thing to remember about social media is that a business can never take back anything they’ve said. As soon as it’s been posted, especially if it’s a bad post, customers will screenshot it and repost it repeatedly. This can be a big problem for businesses that have a large marketing team responsible for using social media accounts because one employee might post something your business that the whole business has to take responsibility for. For example, Target once posted a deal on social media that basically meant customers could get expensive jewelry for free. It was a mistake, but Target chose to honor it since their staff had mistakenly posted it. There have also been times where employees have posted inappropriate content on a business’ Twitter or Facebook account that they’ve had to apologize for. Just remember to train employees to be careful about posts.
