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In order to achieve success online, the most important thing brands can do is remember the ‘social’ part of social media. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram aren’t one-way channels - they’re all about communication, interaction and engagement, and that’s exactly where Community Management comes in. Community Management refers to the process of interacting with your online audience (customers, guests, fans, clients, employees and more), resolving customer service issues and building brand awareness and brand love through positive conversations, and this can either be carried out in-house or by an external agency. Read on to find out why this activity matters for your business and how to implement it with flying colours.
It Improves Your Standard of Customer Service
Providing customer service on social media is no longer a choice - it’s a necessity. Plus, it’s much more cost effective than traditional procedures: handling customer requests on social can be up to 12 times cheaper than dealing with them over the phone! This essential branch of Community Management involves responding to complaints, enquiries and general feedback, and is rapidly becoming the preferred method of communication between consumers and businesses, with 54% of people confirming that they have a more favourable view of brands that offer this service.
So which platforms should you be paying attention to? Here’s a breakdown of the percentage of customer care requests vs other types of interactions respectively, across the top three social media sites:
• Twitter: 53% vs 47%
• Facebook: 46% vs 54%
• Instagram: 46% vs 54%
As you can see, around half of all interactions relate to customer service, meaning that if you’re not responding consistently, a large portion of your audience are likely having their concerns ignored.
The speed at which you reply is important too, with 42% of people expecting to receive an answer to a social media complaint within just one hour. Facebook will even reward your business for prompt communication by displaying a ‘Very responsive to messages’ badge on your page if you have a response rate of 90% or more and an average response time of less than 15 minutes - so if you want your page to stand out from its competitors, it’s vital to provide swift assistance to your customers. What’s more, a massive 96% of consumers will stop using a business if they feel they have received an unsatisfactory standard of care, making top-quality customer service a truly indispensable investment for your company.
It Adds a Voice and Personality to Your Brand
Maintaining a consistent presence on social media allows you to establish a specific tone of voice and build a personality for your business over time, giving fans an extra thing to love about your brand and making your social presence more memorable. For some companies, their tone of voice has even become one of their main USPs! US-based fast food restaurant chain Wendys, for example, is well known for its witty, comedic and sometimes even sarcastic interaction style on Twitter, which is enjoyed by its demographic of predominantly Gen Z and younger Millennial users.
and sometimes snark and nonsense
— Wendy’s (@Wendys) October 21, 2021
Is your brand still finding its digital feet? Take a look at some tone of voice ideas below for inspiration:
Quirky, upbeat and cheeky
Suitable for brands with a relatively young audience who might be open to some lighthearted banter, occasional memes and pop culture references.
Warm, friendly and inviting
Suitable for brands that want to appeal to families with children, as well as local communities who want to see positive, welcoming language (and perhaps some fun emojis!).
Mature, knowledgeable and professional
Suitable for brands with older audiences, as well as those that deal with serious topics and/or share educational content such as schools, museums, libraries and universities.
Learn more about establishing a tone of voice for your brand in episode 8 of our podcast, where Amy explained how to set clear guidelines to ensure consistency and cohesion between both your online and offline comms.
It Boosts Proximity and Brand Love
Another major benefit of Community Management is that it boosts proximity between your brand and its audience. Having an infrequent social media presence - or lacking one altogether - can put up barriers between you and your customers, leaving them feeling a sense of distance and wondering how to connect with you.
When it comes to Facebook in particular, 95% of Millennials expect brands to have a page, while 87% of people aged 30-44 and 70% of people aged 45-60 think brands should be present on the platform. A further 86% of customers will buy from a brand instead of a competitor if they’re worth following on social media, demonstrating how showing up and being there for your audience can have a direct impact on their purchasing decisions.
In order to generate brand love, you need to ensure that your customers see you as an equal and feel comfortable interacting with your business in the same way as they do with their friends and family. Humanising your brand will build lasting relationships, incentivise loyalty and allow for deeper connections to be made with your audience.
Discover Your Audience’s Wants & Needs
Community Management is also a great market research and analysis tool, especially if you’re carrying out an effective Social Listening strategy. This involves monitoring keywords and phrases that relate to your brand and industry, as well as untagged mentions, so that you can keep an eye on recurring trends and track common themes within your audience’s conversations on social media. Think of it as the ‘behind-the-scenes’ branch of Community Management - it enables you to discover the wants and needs of your fans and customers, while also measuring their response to your existing products, services and content.
The next step of Social Listening is to jump in and actually join those conversations, giving you the opportunity to introduce your brand and make a great first impression. Check out the example below, where we responded to a hungry Twitter user on behalf of our client Sushi Daily as a result of monitoring the word ‘sushi’, making them aware of the brand and subsequently providing a link to encourage a conversion.
We could help fix this...?😉
— Sushi Daily (@_sushidaily) January 5, 2022
You can find your nearest Sushi Daily kiosk here - https://t.co/mXNBUXK1DI 😛
— Sushi Daily (@_sushidaily) January 5, 2022
Outsource to an Agency
We understand that it can be difficult and time-consuming to try and handle your brand’s incoming messages, enquiries and comments by yourself, while simultaneously running all the other day-to-day aspects of your business. It’s a well known fact that social media managers and brand marketers rarely switch off due to the constant influx of notifications, which can lead to unwanted stress and poor mental health. That’s why we’re huge advocates of outsourcing your Community Management to an agency like ours.
On the fence about outsourcing? We’ll let the stats do the talking: Almost 54% of all companies use third-party support teams to better connect with their customers, and 78% of businesses all over the world feel positive about their outsourcing partners. Furthermore, direct feedback from our clients has confirmed that enlisting the aid of a dedicated external team has helped them reallocate their in-house resources more efficiently, and has freed up valuable time for them to focus on what they do best.
Not only will we immerse ourselves in your brand identity so that our communications seamlessly match your tone of voice, we’ll also provide tailored, bespoke responses that are specific to the wants and needs of each of your customers. Every message we send on behalf of your business will be unique, individual and 100% bot-free, meaning your audience will always be met with a high standard of care and attention. Plus, with our Community Management team operating from 8am-10pm, 365 days a year, you can rest assured that every comment and concern will be addressed - even if a customer contacts your business outside of your usual office hours. We’re proud to be the only agency in the UK offering this level of support!
Summary
Thanks to social media, it’s never been easier for brands to engage with their fans, resolve issues and bring new customers on board. However, in order to thrive in such a competitive market, it’s essential for businesses to have a strong Community Management strategy in place which centres around more than just selling their products and services. In the past, brands mostly focused on what they wanted to share and promote, but today, it’s paramount that they listen to and acknowledge the opinions of their customers too.
Worried that you don’t have enough spare time to respond effectively to your incoming social media messages? Contact us for a discussion about how our committed team of social media experts can help you succeed.
