You may work hard to learn SEO or study website optimization techniques, which are both helpful extremely when it comes to marketing your company. But as you develop those aspects of your company it is also important to focus on people who ultimately make your business successful — customers.
Your customers are the ones who pay the bills, and their loyalty is something you should be constantly working to gain. Not only will customer relationships pay off in good times, but when things are bad that customer loyalty can make or break your company as well. With the increased use of social media, your customers have never been more accessible.
Hire an SEO consultant or website optimization company and take some time to learn how to build relationships with your customers on social media.
1. BE YOU
As you begin to build relationships, it’s important to remember one thing — be you. You aren’t going to be able to please everyone, so it’s important to stay true to you, your brand, and the things you believe. The right customers, and the ones you want to stick around, will value that and it will help to build a relationship with them.
Being you also means being human. Don’t be afraid to use tone, personality, and even humor on social media. You can help to make yourself even more personable by signing off with your name and address customers by theirs, sharing videos or pictures with behind the scene footage so they see where and how the business works, and in general be human.
2. ACTIVELY ENGAGE
It will require some effort, but being actively engaged is a great way to build relationships with customers. You can do this in several ways, the first of which is by responding to comments, mentions, and messages. Answer questions, respond to feedback, thank customers for their thoughts and input. It all goes a long way when customers hear from you. And remember, you should aim to engage whether the feedback is positive or negative.
3. RESPOND QUICKLY
One key ingredient in engagement is to respond quickly no matter how you are interacting on social media. This will create a better experience for customers which will further help you to build those important relationships. If customers feel like they’re being ignored or not being heard, they won’t mind taking their business elsewhere. Take a few minutes (it really doesn’t take long) to respond to comments quickly.
4. MAKE CUSTOMERS FEEL VALUED
After all, without them your business wouldn’t be much of a business. A little bit of gratitude can go a long way, and you can do it as simply as saying “thank you” on a social media post, or by giving customers a shoutout. For example, you can feature posts, comments, or photos of your top fans. Use customer pictures to showcase your products. You can include your customers in projects your working on, or ask for feedback on product decisions. There are many fun ways to do this, and while you’re making customers feel valued, you may get some great new ideas in the process! As as your your customer relationships grow, you’ll experience more traffic, which in the end can help to boost your SEO and optimize for free.
