Calgary Social Media Management

Smart businesses know that by using Calgary social media management you harness a real force to be reckoned with. It can generate a buzz about your service and products, reach out to your customers, create an opportunity to get your company out in front of anyone with an internet connection and can quickly build a brand presence. If you don’t have a strong social media suite – it’s too late, you are left behind.

Every business needs to master the art of social media management to survive, but it isn’t easy. To run a successful social media campaign you need to:

• Know which Social Media platforms are best for your business
• Know what content is popular within your industry
• Know you audience and what they want
• Dedicate time daily to adding fresh content
• Collect content that engages your chosen audience
• Reach out to people and draw them into conversations
• Know how to handle negative situations and turn them around

Social media management is a real job, and to be good at it, you really need to make it a full time job. With the morass of information online social media increases in its importance as it is the media that is most influential. The whole system was designed to network and connect people, and that’s what it does best. It puts people in touch, and with it goes the ability to investigate and find out information on almost anything.

Before the internet, it used to be that if you wanted to know what was the best shampoo or family car, you asked your friends by visiting or a phone call. Purchasing decisions were based on a limited number of opinions from a close social circle. With the advent of social media that circle of friends is wide open, and much more information is shared and people are making informed decisions. Marketing companies have lost a lot of the power in influencing people to buy and social media has gained all that they have lost – and more. Social media management is not an option! You have to adopt some kind of policy to stay in game. Play it well, and you can lead the rest.

It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of thinking that because you have a personal social media account you can successfully manage a professional one. The two have completely different purposes and are managed two very different ways; it also is an amazing time drain and if you don’t have the time, it simply won’t work. Because of this marketing companies have begun to offer a service in social media management so that your company has a professional social media presence, and you have time to develop the leads that it produces.

Here are some tips to help you make the most of your social media presence or to help you know what to expect:

LISTEN

In the past, companies like The Gap have been accused of not responding to customers’ concerns about faulty merchandise or refund issues – simply because they were not set up to handle customer service problems through their social media channels. Unfortunately, in the digital age, not listening to the social chatter or having presence on social communities can reflect badly on your brand. Even responding with a simple link to the correct website page is helpful – and shows your customers you take them seriously.

Use social media as a two way street and listen to your customers. As social media is now second nature to most people they have no problem with saying what they feel. In a way, social media has given them an outlet of expression and they use it! Listen to the chatter and you can pick up what your customers are saying and get a good idea of their pain points and aspirations. If you tap into that, you can provide them exactly what they want like you’re reading their mind.

THINK

It’s worth putting some effort into writing a thoughtful reply aimed at addressing your customers’ concerns. Showing that you care about their experience and are willing to address problems (or even go above and beyond) is a great way of actually winning around critics and turning them into fans. According to The Retail Consumer Report, commissioned by RightNow and conducted online by Harris Interactive in January 2011, of those customers who received a reply in response to their negative review 33% turned around and posted a positive review, and 34% deleted their original negative review. 85% of consumers said they would be willing to pay anywhere between 5-25% over the standard price to ensure a superior customer experience.

Nothing is more important than an opportunity to show your customers how much you care. If you want word of mouth recommendations then you need to make sure that your current customers are happy. A negative experience needs to be turned into something positive, even if it is that you apologise profusely and admit you made a mistake. Clients can accept a honest mistake but they’ll never accept a cover up or being ignored. If you look hard enough you can find something to resolve any situation that will help you look at your best.

FIND THE RIGHT PERSON

When music retail chain HMV laid off a large number of its employees in January 2013, bosses didn’t realize their marketing team – who had been made redundant – still had access to the brand’s social media sites. The team went online to protest at the way the situation had been handled by executives, tweeting statements like “There are over 60 of us being fired at once! Mass execution of loyal employees who love the brand. #hmvXFactorFiring”  before they were finally shut down.

Finding the right person is critical in running a successful social media campaign. There’s a lot to do and organize, so if you are a sole trader or small business you need to consider hiring someone to do it for you. This is where choosing a Calgary Social Media Management company will really make a difference. A local Calgary company knows the demographic and knows content that will engage the audience. They have the experience to make sure that your company is highly visible in the local area and make sure that you have a strong brand and a positive company image.

There are still some organizations that treat social media communities like an afterthought and leave it to the interns to post an occasional tweet. Your social media is every bit a part of your brand image and reputation – so hire professionals! A Calgary social media manager should be experienced, know your brand in and out, understand your brand’s voice and personality, and, most importantly, love your customers. Community manager is a critical position that serves as a voice of a customer within your organization, so don’t underestimate it. Plus, a seasoned community manager will know the right way to deal with disgruntled customers, be able to deal with social media take-over attempts, and know when to take the conversation off-line.

Take the time to make the right decision and your social media program will bring you in quality leads and an increase in confidence of your company brand. What more could you want?

Resources:

http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2303237/buffer-s-response-to-hacking-a-study-in-social-media-crisis-management

https://hootsuite.com/solutions/social-media-management

https://arcreactions.com/improving-social-media-operations/