We all know that social media is a powerful tool for customer engagement. It can help you build customer loyalty, attract new clients and drive sales. But if you aren’t using social media in a way that resonates and relates with your customers, then it’s not going to be effective for you. To get the most out of your social media presence, here are some principles to keep in mind when speaking to your customers online.
There’s nothing worse than sounding like a corporation on social media
You can speak to your customers in their language without losing the brand you’ve worked so hard to build.
People don’t want to be spoken to like they are a number or an account. They want to feel heard, and they want to know that you care about them as an individual. After all, people prefer talking with other people who know their name over talking with robots or computers. It’s just human nature.
Understand who you’re speaking to
Your customers are a diverse group of people who are all facing different problems. To speak their language, you need to understand how they see the world, what motivates them, and what makes your brand unique.
- Why do they buy from you?
- What do you want them to feel about your brand?
- How do they spend their time online?
Stay true to your Tone of Voice
Tone of Voice is the personality of your brand. It’s the way you speak to your customers and the way they perceive you. It’s how you express yourself through social channels.
A good Tone of Voice helps build trust with customers by showing that you understand who they are and what they need from you. The main goal is to create a unique, consistent voice that people can identify with and feel comfortable interacting with on social media (and offline!).
Don’t use jargon
If you want to speak your customers’ language, avoid using jargon in social media posts and comments.
Instead, use the same language that your customers would use—in other words, write like a human. Don’t be afraid to write with a conversational tone and don’t be afraid to inject humour into your posts if it fits the brand personality of your company.
It’s good to be funny on the internet, but don’t be something you’re not
If you’re going to post memes or other humorous content, ask yourself: “Am I aligning my actions with my mission vision?” If not, then maybe it’s better not to post at all than post something that doesn’t make sense for your brand.
You want to make sure you’re being true to yourself and your brand, so your followers can relate to you. Between two companies who are both posting memes on social media, the one that is using them in an authentic way will win out every time over the company that seems like it’s trying too hard and might have lost sight of why they started posting in the first place.
When in doubt, show empathy
Empathy is a basic human need. We all want to feel like someone else understands us, even if it’s just the person who sold us that last piece of furniture. It can be easy to forget that when we’re doing business—especially on social media, where we often interact with hundreds or thousands of people at once. Research (and common sense) has shown that customers are more likely to buy from brands that show empathy toward their audience.
It’s not about you, it’s about your customers. Your brand is an expression of the values and passions of those who have helped build it. So when you speak on social media, do so in a way that accurately reflects who you are at your core: a company built for people.
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