by Ley Macapagal, Social Media Strategist
Today, the fastest way to a man’s heart is through his SNS accounts.
It is surreal how brands are now investing most of their digital efforts on social media to communicate to their consumers. While everybody seems to buy into the idea that social media might be the most powerful marketing tool today, we slowly realize that digitizing “brand speak” raises issues of credibility and trust between the brand, its advocates, and the substantially growing number of social media audiences.
The issue now is no longer simply being present on Facebook, Twitter, etc. It is now a matter of making real conversations and driving engagement. It’s building brand value and making sure your brand doesn’t fall in the all-clutter category.
First, let’s try to identify the culprits:
- Promotions. Social media activations and the lack of strategy behind it may result to consumer backslash. When brands give away branded freebies in exchange for a like, comment or share, it automatically diminishes their credibility online.
- Social media ads. Sponsored posts and promoted content make fans question the quality of online advertising not only because it’s supported by paid media but mainly because Facebook allows people to distinguish organic content from a paid push.
- Seeded influencers. Whether you’re talking to a real fan or it is PR doing their job, you’ll never know.
That’s not to say that they’re evils altogether. The three items above still form part of any great social plan and we use them routinely. Promotions, ads, and influencers all get the word out about your brand and can drive a quick spike in engagement. But as with everything else, we should use them in moderation. Be careful, or you’ll end up with a page full of professional promo joiners, lost consumers who never look at your content, and groupies who are there for your endorser, not you.
So how do we build a trusting relationship with our fans? How do we establish credibility using social media? Here are some tips that we’ve learned:
1. Stop talking about yourself and start talking to your community. The more hard sell you go, the less engagement you get. Listen and respond. Talk back to your fans, the more actively they speak on your page, the more relevant content you can produce.
We wish it was this simple.
2. Encourage feedback. It is the goal of building a social community to bring your brand closer to the consumers than ever before. It is about time you maximize these conversations to your advantage. Ask, always ask your fans.
“How ya doin’?”
3. Activate and reward your active fans. Whether it’s about rewarding your online ambassadors or attracting new people in your community, keep in mind that promos must be consumer-centric. The objective is to keep them coming back and encourage loyalty.
Effective since, like, forever
4. Be a fun brand. Maximize the endless opportunities within the social space; be creative and relevant while staying true to your brand promise.
Like this, but with less make-up.
Unless you’re a make-up brand, of course.
5. Stand for something bigger than your product. As mentioned earlier, the goal is to let customers know that you care about others, whether it be competitor or their advocates, more than yourself.
Pick one.
Would you like to add to this list? Tell us about it in the comments! 🙂
It's So Social 