5 Popular Social Media Sites

Tools such as Facebook and Twitter are increasingly being used by experienced marketers who have recognized the benefits of using social media to increase their brand awareness and enhance their customers’ experiences. By doing this, you are likely to reap the rewards by customers repeating their business with your company and referring you to other potential customers.

With this in mind, here is a quick guide to five of the most popular social media platforms and how you can enhance your customers’ experience through their use:-

Facebook

Once you have people that have clicked that they “like” your company on Facebook, you need to move onto the next stage. It is now important to develop a tighter connection with your fans and ensure you make the customer experience stronger after the sale and between sales. A quarter of Facebook fans are said to “like” brands in the hope of receiving special deals or coupons etc. Consider giving them access to company offers before other people in order to make them feel they are being taken care off. It is important to remember that people who “like” you on Facebook are among some of your biggest fans so you should put the extra effort in with them to keep them this way.

Twitter

It is advisable to consider your customer’s experience on Twitter and compare it to how they are treated outside of this. Ensure whatever information is tweeted is consistent with your brand. Remember that customers who are using Twitter are under the impression they are being listened to so you should make sure you directly respond to them in a very short period of time. Monitor what existing/potential customers are saying on Twitter and be ready to satisfy their expectations quickly. Bear in mind that Twitter is a 24/7 operation so customers will expect prompt responses from you.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a very popular social media tool among financial services and energy companies etc. It is a professional business tool which is useful for helping to build relationships or enhance existing ones. Important factors that people will be looking out for on your profile, are industry experts, references etc. LinkedIn is a great way of connecting with potential customers through interaction via LinkedIn Groups and answering their questions on LinkedIn Answers etc. It is important it becomes a helpful platform for customers in order to reap big rewards.

If you’re a B2B company, LinkedIn is a great way to identify, connect with, and build stronger relationships with these potential customers by interacting with them through LinkedIn Groups and providing responses to the questions they post on LinkedIn Answers. The key is to make sure you’re serving as a helpful resource. If you do, the long-term rewards can be substantial.

YouTube

YouTube is the second largest search engine, however YouTube users are generally not in the process of choosing or buying products etc. This is important to bear in mind when creating video content. YouTube videos have the possibility of appearing on other people’s blogs, so consider how your video content meets potential and existing customers’ needs. Consider if the videos show what your company provides, such as contact information, quick answers etc. These are important points to think about, considering the majority of people viewing your videos found you by searching on YouTube and not via your website.

Foursquare

Foursquare caters to a niche audience and is not suitable for every brand, however its audience are generally highly engaged and connected online. It is therefore wise to exceed their expectations. Consider what would enhance your Foursquare customers’ impression of your brand and encourage them to share with other potential customers. Consider exclusive offers for your fans/customers in order to make them feel important. This will allow you to gain maximum benefit from the tool.

Overall don’t worry too much about your competitors. They may be using Foursquare or YouTube, but it doesn’t mean you should too. Focus on tools and platforms that strengthen your existing customer’s experiences with your brand to make the most of your online marketing program and drive results.

If you would like some help with maximizing the effectiveness of your social presence, then why not give us a call and have a discussion with one of our digital strategists.