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

  1. Deal quickly with queries, comments and complaints.
  2. Avoid corporate speak. If possible, make your social media channels personal. Identify someone to be the “face” and “voice” of your business.
  3. 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.”
  4. 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.
  5. Don’t copy-and-paste your responses. People spot “template” replies straight away.
  6. Make your replies personal – use the person’s name or social media handle. Treat them as a friend, not a digital entity.
  7. Encourage people to contribute photos, comments, experiences etc. Make them feel involved.
  8. 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