Why you should stop shouting on social media

Social media has fundamentally changed the way you market your business. You have access to potential customers 24/7 who you can target based on their interests.

So you’ve set up your social accounts and you post regularly to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, maybe you even schedule your posts using Hootsuite or Sprout Social, but you’re not generating the sales you’d hoped for.

It’s a common misconception that simply posting to your own social channels will help you generate more customers. Think of it like shouting your message from the top of a mountain and hearing nothing but an echo back.

Your business may be doing a whole lot of talking, but not a lot of listening to customers, which is where the problem lies.  

Stop shouting and start listening

Your followers are your biggest fans, as a business, it’s your responsibility to learn about your followers and what they care about.

Our research shows that 80% of shoppers research online before going in-store and 21% of those turn to social media for reviews and advice.

By understanding what topics your customers are talking about, you are able to inform your marketing strategy and deliver what your customers want.

For example, a client of Maybe* who sells designer shoes listened to what their customers were talking about and noticed that a lot of the conversation was around dogs. The brand had never thought to incorporate dogs into their strategy, but it was clearly a topic that their customers were passionate about.

This insight steered the direction of their new season photo shoot which, you guessed it, included dogs and drove their customers to talk about their brand and buy more shoes. 

Twitter-topics-ks

'What's being said about' dashboard. See yours by logging into your account or by getting started with our 30-day free trial.

It pays to connect with your customers

If you’re listening to what your followers are saying, you can easily join in the conversation. As a consumer yourself who would you rather shop with, a business that interacts and listens to their customers' needs or a business that only talks to you to sell?

A recent study found that 76% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand they feel connected to over a competitor. Not only will connected customers become more loyal to your business, but they are more likely to increase spending too.

The takeaway

Let’s get back to basics and remember that people follow others on social media to be connected. When customers feel connected to your business they are more likely to:

  • Recommend your business to a friend
  • Increase spending with your business
  • Buy from your business over a competitor

Join the conversation today and start connecting with your customers to find out what they really want. Start your 30-day free trial today.