For modern businesses, one of the most important yet most stressful things to handle regarding their customers in their interactions through social media. When done right, a business can grow in customer loyalty and appreciation. But when done wrong, businesses can get an incredible amount of backlash from their customers and others on social media.
To help ensure that your business has positive experiences rather than negative ones, here are three tips for interacting with your customers through social media.
Become Appreciative Of Feedback
One of the best and worst things that a business can receive through their customers on social media is feedback. While some of this feedback will be helpful and encouraging, some of it will simply be meant to tear your business down and encourage others not to work with you.
In order to turn the tides more primarily in your favor, Thomas Smale, a contributor to Entrepreneur.com, recommends that you learn how to be appreciative of all feedback you get on social media. If you get a compliment, try to take it with grace and sincerity. And if the feedback you’re given is more like criticism, learn how to listen to what is being said to you and then engage in a constructive dialogue with those who’ve taken issue with your business. While this can be hard, it’s going to give you the best possible outcome in this difficult situation.
Offer A Quick Response
When your customers take the time to interact with your business through social media, it’s wise on your part to try to respond to them in a timely manner. In fact, Rebekah Carter, a contributor to SproutSocial.com, shares that generally expect a business to respond to them within 30 minutes of them posting something on interacting with them online.
If you’re unable or unwilling to offer a quick response on social media, you may find that your business gets a very negative reaction not only from the person who reached out to your business, but also from anyone who notices that this attempt to interact wasn’t fruitful. So while it might mean closely monitoring your social media channels and putting in more hours online, this is something that can prove to be very important to the success of your business online.
Take The Focus Off Your Business
For many small businesses, they unknowingly spend too much of their time on social media promoting their own business. However, if you’re wanting to interact with your customers online, this is one of the worst ways to do it.
Rather than putting too much of your focus on your business, Mike Templeman, a contributor to Forbes.com, advises that you spend most of your time sharing helpful and relevant information with your followers. This can help you build an actual relationship with those in your network.
If you’re needing some guidance on how to best interact with your customers on social media, consider implementing some of the tips mentioned above.
