Lillian in yet another shared article takes a closer look at Social Media content, and what is needed to make it count!
#5 Tips: How to create social media content that works for you
The markets seem to be all bent on bringing home the Millennial; this generation, among many accusations seem to have insatiable capacity for all things digital, and have no qualms with testing out products and services, just for “the experience”. But that’s not all, more and more of these spenders are likely to come back and enlist their ‘unbiased’ opinion of your product and service online. This, undoubtedly means that, social media channels will keep growing and marketers can only ignore this to their detriment. Engaging the Millennial on the various channels is however a task on its own; you either make or break it. Touching on the backbone of this growing relationship is content – the what, when and how to present it. Here are five guidelines from Lillian Gaitho of Jovago.com, Africa’s leading online hotel booking platform on how to deliver effectively.
Involve your consumer, boost brand ownership
This basically goes down to creating ideas that allow your consumers to be part of your brand, with the objective of cultivating brand reputation and loyalty. You can do this by engaging their thoughts on new products, pre-launch events, seasonal campaigns and also inviting them to share their experience with your products, services and brand. Another different yet effective way is through supporting a cause directly touching on the customer, for instance, you can choose to extend compassionate acts to your customers on days such as World Health Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day et cetera.
Create Independent channels for customer generated content
Consumers, especially new ones will tend to believe reports and results from their fellows who have used or experienced a particular service/product as opposed to adverts and company claims. The culture of view and review has also caught up with most consumers; meaning that any not so good or below par rating will earn you unfavorable comment from your customers, which could deter potential consumers from buying your wares. You can however turn such incidents (there’s bound to be that one customer) to opportunities to impress the aggrieved by attending to them in an even better and warmer way.
Respond to social media queries
Your customer relations must go beyond the conventional channels; as it is very likely that every new hour there’s someone mentioning your brand in any of the channels. Invest in and employ digital tools to help you keep abreast with random news, mentions and queries touching on your brand. That done, assign someone to promptly tend to the same, as the internet of things has the uncanny ability to escalate from comment to crisis within no time.
Be Relevant and Timely
Newsjacking seems to be the new Holy Grail of digital corporate marketing. But if used without caution, a slip in wording or too much back and forth to ‘approve post’ could spell disaster, sometimes ending up with a mini-crisis in your already full hands. Avoid cheapening your brand by commenting on what does not touch on you; unless you are creative and fresh enough to breathe magic into seemingly out-of-your-circle trends. Again, once you’ve identified a favorable trend, waiting for the entire day for the legal department or head of human resource to approve the content before posting can cost you, not just crucial hours, but your reputation as an organization, as it makes you appear sluggish, inflexible and outdated.
The human face of your brand
Social media, apart from creating a healthy basis for brands to interact with their consumers, have also created a new platform for rival brands to meet, monitor each other and sometimes trash each other, in what some experts observe to be an emerging trend woven around hostile marketing. A fresh example is when a popular Kenyan bank recently went down on receivership; both the publics as well as competitors had a field day making memes and making fun, while almost forgetting the affected numbers that were stranded without a penny in their pocket. While a fraction of consumers may find it amusing, others will think it’s outright inhumane to get all geared up for a ride on your competitor’s downtime, especially so when it affects the customer’s’ (public) welfare.
