Consistency and quality content are both key elements that should be utilized in developing a strong online presence. But one of the most successful measures of how your brand is succeeding online is to learn the views that other companies and individuals hold about you.
These views are most commonly expressed in the form of mentions on social media. Social mentions are a time when your brand or business is mentioned or name-dropped on a social media platform.
They can be either positive or negative and are a great way to engage with your following and change the definition of how your brand is perceived.
If you’re like most businesses on social media, you want to increase your social mentions in order to:
- Build brand awareness
- Grow a loyal following
- Generate leads and sales
This can all be done by employing the right techniques in your social media marketing strategy. Developing an effective strategy is key to generating growth for your brand. Not to mention that there are even ready made business plans that you can check out.
Follow the steps below to create a social media presence that demands attention and ensure that the mentions you are receiving are positive.
1. Expand Your Online Presence
The most important thing is to make sure that your social media presence is one that is highly active. Ensure that you have accounts on the major social media platforms, in particular, those that have the most relevance to you and your business.
That doesn’t mean you have to be on every single network. Pay attention to where customers may be mentioning you already, as a sign for where you should focus your efforts.
You should also look to participate actively on platforms that are used frequently by significant individuals within your niche as well as competitors. Ask yourself where most of your target audience is spending their time online.
By participating regularly and effectively in social media networking, you are able to lead the conversations that are being had about you online.
2. Put The Customer First
It’s a cliche that’s as old as capitalism – but putting the customer first is the best way to make them loyal to your brand. This, in turn, will lead them to your social media where they will mention your brand in a positive light.
One significant way to do this is to develop a marketing strategy that looks at your business from the perspective of a customer. A great way to do this is to look at the stages of the customer lifecycle. What steps does a customer take before buying your products or services and what steps do they take afterwards?
Understanding this will help you develop a customer journey map. Studies have shown that companies that employ this strategy saw their positive mentions on social media increase to 20.7 per cent from 16.7 per cent. This could make the difference between a successful company and one with little brand loyalty.
3. Use Social Media For Your Customer Service
If people are unhappy with your products or services, they may go online to vent about it. Having a watertight online customer service strategy is crucial to turning negative mentions into a positive opportunity for growth.
Focusing on your customer service on social media will enable you to develop a strong customer following as well as loyalty to your brand.
You should answer as many tweets, comments and statuses that mention your brand as possible. The customer or potential customer is trying to tell you something, don’t let their comments and thoughts fall into the void.
If a customer asks a question about your products or services, answer swiftly. Make sure your tone of voice is true to the branding of your business.
Negative comments can be a little more tricky. Do not delete or try to breeze over negative comments online but instead, respond as soon as possible. According Jay Bayer at Convince&Convert 42 per cent of consumers on social media expect a response in 60 minutes.
Use a friendly, branded tone of voice to address concerns and quickly move the conversation over to a private message. This is important. Moving the conversation into your DMs or an email will keep the details of any concerns away from public viewing.
4. Own Up To Your Mistakes
Similarly, when you do make a mistake as a company, ensure that you acknowledge this online. Whether it’s a simple typo or a huge brand misstep, being the first to talk about it on social media means that YOU set the tone of the conversation.
Ignoring issues will simply reflect badly on your brand and lead to less customer loyalty and less belief in your business. So be as transparent and honest as possible as your customers will value you for it.
5. Track Your Social Media Mentions
Follow your social media mentions by setting up a social listening stream. The best way to encourage more mentions, particularly those that are positive, is to understand what your customers and potential customers are already saying.
Then you can determine the best ways to engage them to encourage more positive mentions across all channels.
Sites like Hootsuite, Talkwalker and Brand Watch allow you to track social mentions on platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.
6. Maintain A Consistent Brand Image
That means ensuring that certain things, such as fonts, colours and in particular, your unique branded tone of voice remain consistent on your social media channels.
Use clear language that is straight-forward and easy for anyone to understand. If your brand is more playful and fun, stay true to a more light-hearted tone of voice. On the other hand, if your brand is more strictly professional, then this should be embodied in the way that you write your social media copy.
When it comes to copy, it’s best not to try too hard to be ‘cool’. Don’t use overly suggestive language or images as this will alienate people from your brand. You should also be careful not to go overboard with slang words, as this can come off as cringe worthy.
It may sound obvious but you should also try and address other brands and businesses on social media with a positive attitude as far as possible. Getting defensive is not a good look. You should take criticism and negative or angry comments as an opportunity to learn.
This will ultimately lead to more positive social mentions of your brand online.
[Recommended additional reading: Social Media Demographic Guide For Digital Marketing Professionals]
[Images – Main: Photo by Photo Boards on Unsplash; Shouting: Photo by Icons8 Team on Unsplash; Meeting: Image by StockSnap from Pixabay; other images from their respective websites and/or social platforms]
Stefanos Bournias is a content marketing consultant that specializes in SaaS businesses. He’s worked with start-up founders, content managers and inbound marketers to deliver quality content that increases brand awareness, traffic and qualified leads.