 What is online engagement, what does it mean?
Here at Social Results we believe that successful online engagement is rooted in great conversation. So, let’s see what Google says about the word conversation and how this could apply to your online business communication strategy. Conversation kɒnvəˈseɪʃ(ə)n/ noun a talk, especially an informal one, between two or more people, in which news and ideas are exchanged. What we have is an exchange between people, something very different to the corporate and brand broadcast styles of marketing used over the decades and more akin to a visit to your friendly local corner shop. Broadcast marketing isn't dead, but in the days of social media it should be considered an aspect, not the be all and end all, of your strategy. This less formal approach is something that those who have worked in the client and customer relationship management fields will find to be second nature, however those unused to the spontaneity of talking directly with the public may find it a little daunting. Keep reading to get an insight into the world of public service delivery. First of all remember that as long as you respond to people in a timely fashion, or approach people who are seeking what you are offering (intercept marketing) you have a very good chance of reinforcing and improving, your organisation’s reputation. These people already want your attention, or are warm to your offering, so don't be scared. Remind yourself why you are in business and why people are better off using your services or products rather than a competitor's and get online and tell them in enthusiastic and friendly manner why you are the service to choose. Top tip: never ever bad mouth a competitor, even if you are right it will make you appear negative and possibly even spiteful which doesn't usually sell well, unless it is a gimmick. Find out who the most influential people and organisations within your sector are and learn from them and, if possible, engage with them. An influencer in your sector recommending your services can significantly raise your profile and do wonders for your reputation, however respect their powers of influence as they cut both ways. Don't bombard them and they may come around to your services or products. Answer queries as quickly as you can and be seen to be doing it in a polite and friendly manner. This approach can do wonders as not only does the person you are conversing with see your responses, anyone with access to your network can see it too, and if you are seen to be helpful are more likely to engage with you in the future. If you are feeling brave enough, it suits your organisation, you are comfortable doing so, and it appropriate to the conversation don't be afraid to add a little humour. However, if someone is being negative we don't advise wisecracks as it can appear flippant and that you do not take people's concerns seriously. Take a look at our earlier blog entries concerning complaints handling and identifying trolls. One of the hardest things is to keep thinking of new things to say, resorting to word or picture or Facebook Like challenges may get you a lot of superficial engagement on an network but will it get you business or accurately represent your organisation? If you are finding it difficult our team can help you to identify potential sources of meaningful, interesting and entertaining content, so get in touch.
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 You do!
We would desperately love to be as stylish as Joan in Mad Men*, and whilst traditional marketing techniques will always have their place we take a fresh and modern approach to bring genuine human engagement to your customers and clients. Essentially, using social media, we want your customers to fall in love with your company, be interested in what you do and feel valued. Understanding the different ways networks operate, who uses them and how they like to be communicated with makes a massive difference, one interested and engaged follower is worth a thousand random followers who may or may not even be reading what your company posts. Too often companies rely on numbers of followers or likes to determine whether their brand is successful, when really they should be looking at the actual sales or interactions, "conversions" as they are known in web analytics geek speak, which are generated by the different networks. When unscrupulous social media management companies can make it look like a massive spike in follower numbers have occurred by buying banks of "zombie" accounts to follow a brand, or even worse make a Like Farm on Facebook and sell it on its good to know there are people like us who care about honest genuine quality over quantity. *we do try!  We are very pleased to be able to launch our full range of social media management, training, website building and large project services.
We can help train you to use your social media confidently and effectively or work alongside you and take away the technology and communications headache. We come from a customer and client focused background, so our approach is to engage people in meaningful conversation and enable them to find out and fall in love with your work. We know that the internet is vast and already full of people who would love what you do if only they knew about it and that's who we will aim for with you. Get in touch we would love to hear from you.  Don't let the baddies win! We took part in the School for Creative Startups Showcase at the Embankment Galleries at Somerset House.
It was a brilliant experience and we got to speak to hundreds of interesting people, find out how they use the internet to communicate and how different networks are used by different people for different reasons. So how did we get them talking? Boats. Lots and lots of boats! We were determined not to bore ourselves and the general public to death, so inspired by the wonderful map designed by XKCD we made a giant map to explain the different ways of communicating across the high seas of Social media. We also made a point of reminding people why password security is so important. We will be bringing out the map in future as it is an excellent educational tool and well everyone loves sailing ships don't they? If you are looking for online help take a look at our services and get in touch, we'd love to hear from you. Not the way we do it.
First of all lets remind ourselves that social media is only a tool, it is just one of many ways to get in touch with customers and clients. Any social media marketing company or consultant that states their social media package will solve all customer relations, marketing and sales challenges is wrong and misleading. Social media is an important part of a wider marketing and customer relationship management toolkit but it does not catch the people who do not use social networks, or those who prefer to buy print magazines and other media, or those who have bad internet connectivity, or many people with sensory problems, or (shock horror) those who do not to use the internet very often of at all. Don’t forget these people they are important to your organisation. Social networks are places where people can choose to allow organisations, be they businesses or charities, to engage with them. Each social network is different and needs to be approached in the correct manner to ensure that messages are communicated appropriately. For example, there is very little point trying to get even the most masterfully constructed technical article on Pintrest, but if you have a stunningly designed soft furnishings collection you really should make sure there are pictures there. Another problem is the numbers game that a lot of organisations get caught up in. Collecting as many followers and Likes as possible, as some organisations chose to do, looks impressive in the short term but can actually lead to losing contact with the people who actually want to know about the product or organisation that is being highlighted. A good example of this approach potentially backfiring can be seen if you know a little about Facebook. Facebook does not show all the posts that are made on Pages to all of the people who have Liked a page, due to the infamous Edge Rank algorithm, this means that if a Page has increased it’s Like count in a game of “Follow Me” with random people and organisations the updates are even less likely to be seen by people who might have actually been interested. We go for the long game, learn about your organisation, your aims, your customers and clients and tailor our services accordingly and continue to monitor and alter our service as required to meet your needs. We;d love to help you so don't hesitate to Contact Us. |
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