The basics
Our social media marketing course covers everything from the basics, to achieving interaction. Here are a few pointers on achieving interaction. There is no point in using all the latest interactive tools if you can’t be bothered to answer an email straight away.
So, a website needs a contact form that is easy to find. And, the website must respond to inquiry forms quickly.
Many websites ignore contact forms and requests for information, or take a long time to reply to them. They may as well tell their visitors to go away! It is like a shop slamming the door in a customer’s face.
You should attempt to reply to every new inquirer immediately – that is, within a few minutes, while they are still sitting at their keyboard. Then, there is a good chance of engaging with them and dealing with their questions before they leave the website and go somewhere else.
If you can’t respond immediately, an automatic “Thanks – we’ll get back to you” email is better than nothing. But, it does not say much about your customer service if that is the best you can do.
Interaction
- Deal quickly with queries, comments and complaints.
- Avoid corporate speak. If possible, make your social media channels personal. Identify someone to be the “face” and “voice” of your business.
- Be over-helpful. If someone can’t operate your product, don’t say: “Read p.16 of the instruction manual.” Instead, say: “Here’s a link to page 16 of the instruction manual. And this YouTube video may help – it shows someone using the product.”
- Respond politely to complaints, and don’t argue. Make a general response, and then move the person out of the public environment as quickly as possible. Tell them: “I’m afraid we don’t deal with complaints in public. If you send me a direct message with your phone number or email address, I’ll get someone to contact you within the hour.” Keep control – take insults, etc, on the chin, but don’t tolerate abuse or bad language. Politely but firmly end the conversation.
- Don’t copy-and-paste your responses. People spot “template” replies straight away.
- Make your replies personal – use the person’s name or social media handle. Treat them as a friend, not a digital entity.
- Encourage people to contribute photos, comments, experiences etc. Make them feel involved.
- Remember, your aim is to send each person away feeling good about your business. Then they will be likely to recommend you – and use you again.
See our social media marketing course