FROM THE BLOG

7 Keys For Community Engagement

 

7 Keys to Community Engagement.  The Marker for Social Media Success  As an organization, community engagement can be extremely beneficial from sales to client service to marketing and branding.  There are many ways you can engage your community, however, today we’d like to highlight 7 to get you started.

1. Show You Care.  In the social realm customers are looking to see that you care and are not just trying to sell them something. It doesn’t mean you can’t have a sales message, it just means you want to educate, inform, entertain, share news and then add a sales or marketing item into the mix. Just don’t scream sales. Customers are looking to be educated on the sale, and on the product before they take the time to buy or even learn about why they should buy a product or service. So share knowledge, share content, and show you care.
2. Respond to Feedback.  If a customer is taking the time to complain, share something with you as a company, or share information with you – RESPOND! Engagement is key in the social realm. Take the time to directly answer your customers questions, reply to feedback both negative and positive. Stay active in your social channels and respond either publicly or via private message or via phone – but make sure to respond.
3. Think Outside The Box.  Link in-person promotions with online promotions. Share company news to your online community. Help those that are not close to your brick and mortar site feel they can participate and belong. Make up online promotions just like you do in the store. Share projects and DIY online just like you do in a store. If you have an ambassador program, invite your online followers with the correct credentials to join. Nothing is more frustrating than an online customer that has all the credentials be denied a special membership because they are not within the geographic area of the store. Think about how your followers and customers think, or feel about promotions and maximize them through all of your social channels.
4. Tone Means Everything.  Watch the tone of your writing. Make sure you are not condescending, yelling, or sounding too “salesy.” Write like you are speaking one on one with your customer or follower. Make sure your tone is linked to your brand’s image so that you are following through with the brand in all channels.
5. Make Connections and Keep Them.  If you have a connection keep them. How? Show up where they are. If you are not in their social feeds join them. If they are having conversations in snap chat – Join. Stay abreast of your followers, where they are, and where they may go next.
6. Carry Your Brand through All Channels.  Make sure your brand is speaking to all channels in the same way in the same voice, and image. It is vitally important that your brand message carry over in all channels. It is like showing up in a little black dress, or jeans and a turtleneck to all engagements (think Steve Jobs, black shirt and jeans – always), rather than one day you are punk, one day you are a preppy, and the next you aim to be Audrey Hepburn. All that does is confuse your audience.
7. Use Visuals and Video.  We are entering the time when visuals will be the key mode of communications. So add as many visuals and videos as you can to keep your audience with you. As attention spans get shorter, visuals will speak the language in a quick and concise way. Incorporate more visuals and video.

These are just a few of the engagement tools we use with Socially Bold. If you would like a free audit or just to ask us some questions or view the many ways we can be of service feel free to contact us for a quick consultation. We are here to help you keep your audience engaged.