| Chris Lund |
| Online community engagement – How and why? |
| 2010.02.10 21:16:20 | |
More and more companies are investing in social media, with a staggering 60% looking to make it a bigger priority for 2010 according to a recent survey. But how do you engage with your customers in a meaningful way? And secondly, when the ROI is difficult to measure, why bother spending time and money which could be used for more measurable marketing activity?Who your online communities are:Firstly, consider who your communities are: They’re likely to be a mix of any or all of the following, depending on your business and the channels you’re using:
Online communities are generally opt-in, so it’s likely that anyone following; befriending, or joining you on any social networking space is already looking to become part of a conversation with or about you. They’re open to debate and, generally, open ready and waiting for engagement. A two-way streetTraditional communications channels between companies and their customers have been one-way –with marketers telling consumers what they wanted to say, or at best what they thought their customers wanted to hear. In the web-empowered customer communities of today though, those same marketers share the stage with their customers, or indeed any other stakeholder who has an opinion on their brand. Today’s savvy consumer can check out your company and its products at any number of review sites, such as Revoo, or on own retailers’ sites, complaints boards such as complaints.com, and of course check out the latest sentiments on Twitter. In France, job hunters can even check out what employees think of their company at sites such as notetonentreprise.com.What to do with themThis poses a real opportunity to sell your products and services, but, before you dive right in there consider this: While it might be tempting to tell all your new found friends about this week’s great special offer, or repeat those marketing slogans and messages running on your DM and email campaigns, it’s worth taking a breath and appreciating the different opportunities afforded to you by social media communities.Get out there and communicateThere’s no point hiding from social media – chances are that if you don’t have time to manage a community for your brand, then someone else will – staying silent will disappoint your fans and further agitate disgruntled customers.IncentiviseLet me get this straight, I’m not suggesting you start paying people to join your community – heaven forbid. However, giving consumers a reason to join is no bad thing – what can they gain from being a part of the community? Maybe having a voice is reason enough for some, but why not sweeten the pill? Offer them the chance to enter community-only competitions, organise off-line meetups, provide banners and badges for them to add to their websites and Facebook pages, or give them priority when it comes to new product updates / releases, etc. This will also encourage those floating fans – who are perhaps not quite as passionate as your most dedicated fans or your most embittered detractors – to become active community membersBe transparentThere’s no point pretending that the CEO is personally replying to every blog post, tweet and comment, and most consumers wouldn’t expect it –be clear about who’s posting, tweeting, or running your pages. Similarly, avoid the temptation to post positive comments as a fake user – or pay others to do it: Customers aren’t dumb and they’ll see through this tactic easily – just ask BelkinListenCommunities form because people have something to say and share – maybe for positive reason, but just as often for negative ones. Communities are a great way of identifying common issues shared by customers – pointing to areas you can improve your service, your marketing message or your product. This can be a goldmine, providing you with the kind of feedback previously attainable through costly consumer panels and market research.ActOK, so you’re benefitting from all this free feedback – now make sure you act on it. Customers are usually happy to give feedback, but they’ll expect you to act on it – that might be as simple as instigating a call out from customer services, helping them understand a user manual, or letting them know when a service outage will be rectified. Swift action can often turn an impending PR disaster into a bunch of satisfied customers. If you’ve got faith in your product and your colleagues, you’ve got little to loseReap the benefitsAn thriving, discursive online community can pay dividends across the board – Happy customers breed more customers and more sales, while potential employees googling your company name will see at a glance the kind of proactive, caring company you are, and other stakeholders will be more encouraged to buy in to the idea of working with or supporting you.And a final pause for thought…Be careful who you put in charge of your communities!While some companies might be tempted to hand over responsibility of the twitter and Facebook accounts to a junior team member (hey, they’re the hip, young and trendy ones right?) It’s worth remembering that this role holds the potential for massive exposure to customers. In the wrong hands this can be a recipe for a PR disaster, as Vodafone have found out to their cost twice in recent months in Hungary and the UK Tags:
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