What's so Likeable About Social Media?
You try this amazing new product and need to shout from the rooftops about just how spectacular it really is. You tell all your friends on social media about this glorious product and they, of course, have to try it out. They fall in love and share their newly found joy with their hundreds of friends and family on their social media pages. The rippling effect has begun and the product is selling like crazy with a newly acquired fan base.
Word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM) is a powerful force that has now become an even more essential instrument in business’ tool belts due to the recent rise of social media. The scenario above yields a great example of WOMM's benefits on social media. However, why sit back and wait for conversations to organically happen when you can create the buzz yourself and then further engage in these conversations? Likable Social Media by Dave Kerpen further explores this questions by digging deep into the benefits of WOMM and successfully engaging with customers on social media platforms.
4 Key Takeaways I Learned From Likeable Social Media
1. Communication is 50% talking and 50% listening
Thanks to social media it is now easier than ever to listen. However, many companies still look at social media as a broadcast media instead of an engagement media. Dave Kerpen encourages brands to use their media platforms to listen, and never stop listening. When you listen to your customers and they realize you are listening this creates a lasting relationship and a loyal fan base.
2. Being Responsive is Being Responsible
There are so many key learnings under the large umbrella of responsiveness. Firstly, always respond when possible and respond quickly. By ignoring a negative comment and not responding you are telling the customers they are not important. When you respond and respond quickly, you send the message that your company listens to its customers and promptly fixes problems. The words "I'm sorry" and "Thank you" go a long way. Don't just respond to negative comments, but positive ones as well. When responding to positive comments, develop your brand voice and social personality. Witty responses such as, "Thanks Mary, we like you too" or more professional response, "Thank you for your comment and your loyalty". Lastly, surprise and delight your customers. Going the extra mile shows your audience that you truly care.
3. Be Authentic, Be Human, and Be Transparent
Who likes calling a company and talking to a machine? Almost nobody. So why should your social media engagement be any different? Overall, engagement is all about human interaction - so engage like one with personality and authenticity. Don't just observe the online conversations, but truly seek to understand why you consumers use your products and the role it plays, or could play, in their lives. If you expect costumers to give you a view into their lives, give them a view into yours. Be transparent and let your customers see behind the curtain of your business. For example, Kerpen suggesting doing a monthly slice-of-life video by quickly talking with a new staff member every month and broadcasting this 60-second video. This will further humanize your brand and build trust within your customers.
4. Storytelling Elicits Emotional Connection
When customers hear a story about other customers, a good deed your company did, how your company started, etc.; they feel an emotional connection to your company. Stories humanize brands. No matter how boring you think your product or brand is, every company has stories to share about happy customers. Inspire your customers to share their stories and create more and more loyal, happy customers. Besides focusing on inspiring stories from the customers, engage your staff as well. As a company, by sharing staff stories you remind customers that you are not this giant corporate company, but a company built from people just like them. Another essential tool in sharing stories is sharing pictures and videos. Tag and share footage of customers, staff, and management. As the saying goes, pictures are worth a thousand words.
Overall, Dave Kerpen did a wonderful job at constructing and writing this book. Kerpen exudes passion and knowledge on all things social media, WOMM, and customer engagement. As someone who grew up in a world of social media and is planning to enter a career in communications, I still had no idea just how much you can utilize social media. What I really loved about this book is all the examples that Kerpen gives and thought-provoking questions. Every chapter of this book is accompanied by many real-world examples and a serious of questions that make you turn your thoughts into action. Kerpen's insights and knowledge are something that I will be using for the rest of my career and personal life, and for that reason, I think everyone should read this book.
