It’s 2020 and you already know the importance of social media. The last few months have seen a boom in social media usage like never before. The importance of building meaningful social media connections right now cannot be overstated. You might think it gets a little impersonal trying to connect via a platform that caters to the masses. However, there’s a correct way to build social media connections which will bring in desired results. On average, we are spending 2 hours 22 minutes on social networking sites. Inspiring ideas/stories, communities, and common causes seem to connect us with each other.
Why are Social Media Connections so Important?
Owing to the situation the world is in, both financially and socially, brands will have to reconsider a few strategies. This begins with how they respond to the shift in consumer behavior patterns. A recent report from KPMG shows how consumers yield power in the current scenarios. One of the retail trends shows how they want to buy from brands that represent and stand for something bigger rather than being driven by profits. Brands with a positive impact on people’s lives have grown 2.5 times than brands with lesser perceived impact.
All the data available simply shows us that today, brands who lead by strengthening their customer relationships have a competitive advantage. The online social space comes in handy and is effective to build emotional connections with your audience members.
At the outset, building strong social media connections might not seem easy and it is not. Adapting your online stance and adjusting according to the mood online mood calls for a deep understanding of your target audience. And this is not just for now. Even when there’s financial recovery and everything is back to normal, companies will need to understand their customers. People want to see how brands respond to their pain points, expectations, and reactions.
Social Listening helps to Create Meaningful Connections
The basis for building strong customer relationships lies in how well you know your audience. Your entire organization benefits from the abundance of data lying online. Social listening and sentiment analysis could inform you of what exactly your customers think about your brand. If they are complaining about a lack of customer support, you know which department needs focus.
This seems easy, right? Tracking customer comments and then drilling down to the pain points and solving them. Not always! 96% of the conversations occurring online are unbranded, i.e. the customers do not tag the official handles of the brands. Tracking these comments poses a challenge but not with social listening. This tool tracks all mentions, captures the sentiments, and presents a report in detail.
When you begin to understand the general sentiment, you will know what needs to be included in your brand messaging. Follow your industry news and empathize with your stakeholders, employees, and customers. Read into the sentiment and send out an emotional message at the right time via the right channel. This is bound to resonate with your audience. This move comes after you have carefully studied the sentiments and interests of your target market. In the long run, this move helps your brand gain the trust of its customers, employees, and stakeholders.
Whether you are launching a short-term or a long-term campaign, be sure to read into the social conversations first. If you review the past few months, top brands have all focused on building customer relationships. You can begin doing the same and your social listening tool will even help you formulate your next campaign.