Having come a long way since the days of MySpace, social media is no longer considered a tool used to receive constant updates about your friend’s pets. In the modern era, social media is being used for a number or different purposes, by individuals, brands, and businesses.
Going far beyond the massive changes social media has impacted on how we communicate with each other, it also has a massive influence on how brands are now engaging with their existing and potential customers, as well as allowing them to reach out to new audiences and rethink their brand development in key areas such as web design.
With layers and layers of impact and benefit for the historic branding revelations social media has thrust upon us, let’s peel back the onion and take a look at the role of social media in a little more detail.
Customer service
You may or may not remember the days when you had to call up a business, or send an email, to get assistance with a customer service query or issue. These days, a large percentage of customer service can be run through social media. With customer’s comments and your reactions to them being closely monitored, it’s essential that you rethink your company’s tone of voice and brand values – and make sure they’re clear in all communication.
Social media offers a much more personalised service and shows the rest of the world exactly who your business is, without you having to shove it down their throats in the form of advertising and branding graphics. Offering customer service through social media opens you up to a whole new level of trust. Show that you are open, you care about your customers as individuals and that you’ll get back to them quickly and deal with a query effectively. Gone are the days when people will take your word for how great you are – these days you need to show them.
Organic marketing
Social media is a social interaction tool at its heart, but it is essentially a marketing tool. Designed to make communication easier between friends and businesses, it allows you (as a business or an individual) to show the world who you really are; to showcase your achievements and increase engagement by creating conversation and renown.
Due to the open nature of social media, and the fact social media is seen as more organic than other forms of marketing, you can really unleash your creativity when working on the social platforms, by creating interesting and engaging campaigns that people want to, and will, respond to. This something that can’t be achieved in the same way using TV ads or print media.
Social media marketing also allows you to compile an array of data on your users. Which posts they best respond to, when they are more likely to engage and what their likes, dislikes, and demographics are so you can work out what they want to see more of, and what they want to see less of.
More feedback
Before the days of mainstream social media, it took a lot of time and money to find out crucial information about your target market. For instance, surveys and tester groups used to provide the same level of information that a quick video or facebook post can offer nowadays. If you ask the right questions and present them in the right way for your audience, you can gather vital information about the opinions of your customer base, helping you to improve products, services, and your overall brand.
The modern era of social media marketing also allows you to gather honest feedback from your customers without having to prompt them. Most people won’t buy a product or service if it doesn’t have good reviews, and Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram and an array of other platforms are a hotbed of customer praise.
For further insight into branding in the modern, digital world, take a look at our other blog posts.
Photo: Social Media by magicatwork licensed under Creative commons 2