Social marketing tip #2: How to use social media to build trust-based, long-lasting relationships

bysmartketeer

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Updated 6 years ago

It's a well-known fact: social media is an extremely powerful online communication channel. Even so, you could simply decide to ignore it, and if your online presence is strictly personal there will be no serious consequences. On the other hand, if you have a business-driven online presence, ignoring social media is a luxury you can’t afford. If you are not there for your customers … a competitor will be.

In other words: ignoring social media marketing is a lightning fast way to ruin an online business.

OK. Now, that I overemphasized its critical importance, let’s see how can you use social media marketing to get your customers to start shouting about your brand from rooftops.

1. Social media will help you to build authentic, trust-based, long-lasting relationships

Believe me, this is your end goal. I know, it’s a cliche, but it’s still true, especially when we are talking about social marketing. According to Nielsen …

92% of consumers believe recommendations from friends over all other forms of advertising.

The relationships you build with your customers lead to loyalty and brand advocacy. But, it won’t happen overnight. All relationships are based on reciprocal behavior and they must be cultivated. Social media may be fast, but long-lasting relationships still take time.

Social media marketing – just like dating – requires a lot of finesse. Be patient. Be social. Try to understand your customers and their needs. Put yourself in their shoes, watch their behavior, and pay attention to their questions. Show them how much you care. And for God’s sake, don’t ever use a hard sell on social media! The only thing you want to do on social media is to help. This is how you will turn your customers into ambassadors …

2. Social media is an invaluable source of insights

Social listening works. Why? Because your customers are using these channels to share thoughts and information in real-time. Any question, concern, comment, observation or complaint is an extremely useful real-time feedback for you. This continuous informational flow can act as an early warning system and will help you to build and run an efficient, informed business. According to an Oracle report …

43% of social users interact with brands on social media for a direct response to a problem or question.

These insights will help you to create better content and better products for your customers. They will also help you to evaluate your competition and to create a truly outstanding customer service for your business. There is a saying: “it’s easy to talk, harder to listen”. The hardest of all is to be a careful listener. It takes time and patience, but the results are worth the effort.

3. Social media is the best way to increase customer retention

Social media marketing is about building and engaging a community. The feelings of a given community member toward your brand can range from indignation to veneration and even beyond. Your job is to create strong emotional bonds based on positive experiences. The very first step is getting people to “like you”. Once they do, the bond has been already created and all you have to do, is to cultivate it. According to Social Annex …

62% of millennials say that if a brand engages with them on social networks, they are more likely to become a loyal customer.

In time the relationship will grow deeper and your “fans” will become loyal brand advocates. When the engagement level becomes higher, your customers will be ready even to defend your brand from detractors. This process works like a never-ending loop and will help you to increase you customer retention rate.

4. Social media will help you to build your brand

It’s extremely simple. The more frequently and efficiently you use social media, the greater your brand exposure and the more recognizable your business become. A consistent social marketing strategy will generate not only an increased trust through leveraged credibility, but also an enhanced brand recognition and thought leadership. According to a Mext Consulting study …

If consumers trust a brand, 83% will recommend it and 82% will use its products or services frequently.

5. Social media will help you to run precisely targeted ad campaigns

It’s a well know fact: social ads are efficient and inexpensive. Each major social platform offers powerful targeting opportunities that will help you to reach the right target audience and easy-to-use tracking solutions that will help you to measure your results. Your options are almost overwhelming: location, interests, demographics, connections, keywords, behaviors, gender, age, etc. With a smartly segmented, well-targeted social ad you can literally explode your conversion rates. According to Martech Zone …

70% of B2C marketers have acquired customers through Facebook.

OK. Now, let’s see …

The 2 most common drawbacks of social media marketing

You might think that so many great benefits cannot exist without some major disadvantages. Wrong. There are only two noteworthy issues:

1. Social media marketing is time intensive

Yes, you’ll have to invest a great amount of time in social media marketing. This is a fact. Accept it. And if you see it as a disadvantage, you need to re-configure your mindset. Any form of marketing is time intensive. Business is time intensive. Everything valuable comes at a price, and – as I already said – social media is not an optional marketing asset for an online business. Social media marketing is a must and you’ll need to allocate enough time to do it right. Period.

2. Your brand image can be damaged

Social media is a public and interactive communication channel. Fact is, anything that you post in public can be held directly against you or your company. Any small mistake or any piece of apparently insensitive content can be easily leveraged by your competitors or your potential ill-wishers. A few malicious accounts and some false news or dull comments are enough to harm your brand, so you should be ready to deal with similar situations.