For this weeks blog post I want to focus on the best ways to manage your brand image, and your marketing strategy. Managing your brand’s online reputation, and content is a key way to build a successful online presence, and keep it that way!
Focus on Conversation
This doesn’t mean you know each follower’s life story or how their day has been, but what this does mean is that you are engaging with leads who want to engage with you, whether it be sharing information, a funny reply to a tweet, or commenting on posts that you are tagged in, engaging with followers is an important way to set the tone for your brand and manage what is coming into your social channels. For example, say a customer mentions you with a concern on Twitter, they may be having a negative experience at the moment, but you can spin that into a win for your brand by replying with helpful tips and information, or even humor where appropriate. This is just one of many ways that you can use social media to create a positive tone around your brand!
Customer Service is KEY
This builds on my point about creating conversation, and the example I just gave, however, that is just exactly how important customer care is! Having a customer care team that is scanning for complaints or concerns is the key to creating lasting relationships and maintaining your brand position through managing social channels.
One way you can easily do this is through a social monitoring and management program like Hootsuite or Sprinklr. These programs allow you to have a dashboard tailored to your brand and specific keywords that pertain to your brand’s identity and ability to manage incoming comments, concerns, or positive feedback. Using a tool like this puts you ahead of the competition and makes it easier to address each comment or concern where need be, and leaves little room for a social blunder.
We Messed Up: Now What?
In the event of a social media fiasco or a PR crisis, be proactive rather than reactive. In other words, be sure to plan and prepare your responses. This is a step most marketers miss, because they want to respond fast and clear the fire. Creating a plan helps you to have steps to follow throughout the process.
However, this doesn’t mean to hesitate on an apology. Things will not die down until you admit to the mistake and give them something positive to talk about, you may not be able to go back in time and change the scenario, but what you can do is make it better and restore faith in your brand! Show people that one blunder is not the complete culture of your company, and give them a reason to stay with you. People want to feel good about companies they work with or buy from and one mistake does not mean you have completely lost their business, it just means you have to do some work to earn it back!
Sources Cited:
“5 Ways to Improve Your Digital Marketing Strategy.” Emarsys, 20 Aug. 2019, www.emarsys.com/resources/blog/5-ways-to-improve-your-digital-marketing-strategy/.
Schrieberg, Ethan. “Social Media PR Crisis: What to Do If Your Brand Goes Viral for the Wrong Reasons.” Marketing, VitalBriefing, 16 July 2019, marketing.toolbox.com/article/social-media-pr-crisis-what-to-do-if-your-brand-goes-viral-for-the-wrong-reasons.
