Social networks have grown in popularity as a way for friends to stay in contact and share information about their daily lives. Businesses often attempt to benefit from social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+ too, but to really get the most out of it, its important to use it in the right way. The secret to success is in the name socialnetworking.
Too often, businesses get into a routine of posting about themselves (new products, pricing, offers etc.) and overlook the real purpose of social networking, which is to connect with other people. For businesses, this can be customers, prospects, and other companies.
Here are five ways to network effectively using social channels:
Tune in to what your customers want
Use the search function on Twitter and Google+ to look for phrases relevant to your industry. Often people will turn to social media to answer questions. If you are friendly and not too pushy you can answer these questions, using this as a sales tactic.
Also make sure you use the social networks built-in analytics tools to see which of your posts perform best. If you get the most engagement by posting images or asking questions, make sure you are publishing these types of posts most frequently.
Use social media as a real-time customer service tool
Often people dont have the time to pick up the phone to ask a customer service question, they would rather fire off a quick tweet or Facebook message. Make sure youre there to answer any customer service questions as quickly as possible. If potential customers dont get an immediate answer they may take their business elsewhere.
It doesnt need to be difficult, simply make sure youre logged in to your social sites whenever youre working on your computer, or set up mobile notifications so you can respond while youre out and about.
Monitor your reputation
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5 ways to put the ‘networking’ back into social networking