A lot has been written about what is appropriate and what is inappropriate for your social media sites. Everybody seems to have an opinion…including me. I am not going to focus on what you shouldn’t use your social media sites for. That really depends on which social media site you are referring to, and also what your overall strategy is for your social media. …you do have a strategy, right? Instead, I will focus on a few things that you should be using your social media sites for, independent of concentrating on any specific site.

Provide excellent client communications

Let me give you a couple of pointers that go back to my early days in journalism.

Remember that communications are 2-way. It is not just for you to spew massive amounts of data, specifications, or sales propaganda all over your clients. In small doses, done skillfully, it is acceptable, but it should not be the only focus of your communications. Try gaining feedback from your clients as well.
Make your communications direct and to the point. Simply stated, don’t waste your client’s time. State your purpose (tell them what you’re going to tell them), explain your point clearly and briefly (tell them), and briefly summarize (tell them what you told them).
Tell them who, what, when, where, why and how. When communicating such things as events and meetings, be sure to communicate clearly all the specific details needed.
Remember your sense of humor. Be tasteful and professional in your communications. However, use a good personality, and never let the conversations escalate to a level of intensity that would be uncomfortable for someone else to be reading. That would be unprofessional. Instead, offer to call them, or work with them in some manner offline to resolve their issues, and follow up on your promises.
Invite customer satisfaction reviews. Don’t miss an opportunity to have your customers sing your praises in public. That is worth gold. If your customers do have some less than positive things to say, don’t be too quick to squelch those comments. Studies show that if you only have positive comments from customers, your readers don’t find them as credible as if there is some negative too. Nobody is perfect all the time.

Interact with your clients

One of the best uses for social media is to allow them to ask questions and then provide them with the answers publically. There is an old adage that there are no dumb questions. Having worked with the public for many years, I can assure you that my next statement is true. If it is a question in one person’s mind, and they ask the question, I can guarantee you that someone, somewhere, is sitting there reading it saying “I am so glad they asked that question, because I was afraid to ask.”

But what about knowledge bases? “I have all this great information on my web site. Why should I duplicate it on my social media.” Let me answer by posing another question to you. How many of you out there enjoy trying to find an answer that you really need in someone’s online knowledge base? Can I see a show of hands please? I don’t see any hands. Let me point out one word in a phrase. “SOCIAL” media. This is your opportunity to score big customer service points with your clients by answering their questions personally, and in front of the whole world. You also have the opportunity, for example, to point out features in your product or service that might not be readily available to a casual observer, that could just sway their buying decision. An old friend and mentor of mine used to say “never pass up an opportunity to provide excellent customer service.”

Increase your personal network of contacts

I cannot stress enough how important networking is. Every successful businessman and salesperson I know is a successful networker. I learned something years ago when I was in network marketing. Everyone you know in business and in your personal life is potentially important to you as a friend, business associate or even a referral to another whole network of people. Of course in network marketing, that has the potential to be taken to a very annoying level. On a good and personal level, that describes how we form interpersonal relationships in life. Treat the people you meet with respect. You never know who will become your next lifelong friend, referral, or other incredibly important person in your life.

Pass along your information

To tie this all together, when handled properly, you are able to communicate interactively with your clients, friends and new associates. Social media can be a very positive way to share information. If you have done the above steps correctly, then you have likely developed a rapport and trust on your social sites that will allow you to occasionally pass along product or service information, in an informational manner, without sounding like a sales pitch. However, it never hurts to pass along money-saving special offers that cannot be found elsewhere as a little bonus to your followers. Just don’t do it all the time.

As a good rule of thumb, I recommend spending 75-80% of your time interacting with people on your social sites, spending the remaining time presenting special offers and information about your products and services.

Make your company real and tangible

Don’t miss the opportunity to spotlight your staff and tell a little about what they do on a daily basis. A great example is putting a picture of your beloved customer service person on the social site and give a quick bio about their history with the company. It makes that person more real to your clients, and it also makes the employee feel great, especially if you take the time to thank them for their service publically. This encourages your clients to use the site and also your employees. If you happen to be in a service industry that must send people out to a client’s personal business or residence, consider putting pictures and profiles of your employees online, and then email the information to your customers so that they will know who to be expecting. Develop that trust.

Summary

If your motives are proper and you look at using social media as a service and another avenue of customer service to your clients, it can be an excellent sales tool as well as a service to your clients. Don’t spoil a great opportunity to interact positively with your existing and potential clients by making it all about you and how great your company is, even if it is true. In the end, it’s really all about your customers and what you can do to solve their needs and make their life easier, while still making a profit for you and your employees. Show them “what’s in it for them” and they will appreciate your efforts.

Allen Beck

AKOR Services

2229 NE Burnside Rd, #19

Gresham, OR 97030

HOME