Twitter and Facebook are great ways to get your business message out there. But what do you do when there is no response from your audience – your customers? How do you change things so you aren’t left feeling like you’re talking to yourself?
More than half of consumers don’t respond to social media surveys or questions, leaving less than half that just may make a comment on your posts.
What do your customers want? You’ve given them the means to interact with you and they either ignore you or flatly turn down your attempts to engage them in conversation.
Social media is more than just making connections, adding followers and contacts. You must have the time to invest in building relationships and this is where many of us don’t follow through. Any type of relationship takes time and with the busy lives we lead, few of us actually have the extra hours per week to spend getting to know our customers through social media.
Many consumers feel they no longer need to speak to someone every time they need a service or wish to buy a product. Instead of trying to start a dialogue with your customers, use Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter to keep them informed of changes in your business, new products and ideas. Trying to push interaction can mean that your customers will end up turning to your competitors.
Social media can be used as an outlet to reach your customers in a different way. Share content from your website and blogs. Create content that will get people talking. Link it to your social media sites and while you’re at it, make it easy to sign up for email updates on new products.What you’re trying to do is build a loyal audience.
Don’t spread yourself too thin. With Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more, most small business owners feel they have to be everywhere at once. Check out each social media platform and decide which is best for your niche. Concentrate your social marketing efforts on that one.
Outsource your social media. Hire a virtual assistant or team to take over your posts and to interact with your customers. Take the time to train them so they understand your products and services and then leave them alone to get the word out for you about your business and what you have to offer.
Your messages aren’t being ignored. Your customers are out there and the sooner you begin to engage with them, the sooner you will build loyalty. So get going!
© 2012 DemGen All Rights Reserved.
