The most common questions asked about social media

Members of the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) are starting to bolster their social media efforts with the range of support being delivered by Maybe*.

Maybe* launched its association with ACS during an event on February 5th 2020, and members were invited to call out their questions via the chatbot to test the support.

Over 40 questions were received in 30 minutes and all were delivered a response either via automated delivery of relevant articles or in person by the team of social media experts on hand via the chat.

With social media becoming a channel of choice for consumers to explore their local services and the offers available to them, it's vital that ACS members build up their confidence and proficiency with this fun new way to interact with consumers.

We’re excited to see members dive in to the Maybe* platform and find the support they need wherever they are on their social media journey.

How much does it cost to advertise on Facebook?

Facebook advertising helps you to target the right customers with your products or service. You can spend as little a few pounds or as much tens of thousands of pounds as you like advertising on Facebook but your results will depend on your ability to target the right people with the right offer. 

Via business manager you can build a profile of your perfect target audience using interests or you can create custom audiences using your own followers, engagers and website visitors.

How much time do I need to deal with negative comments on social media and does this happen a lot?

Dealing with negative feedback on social media is inevitable, it’s the quickest way to get a response from a company as it is in public view. Different companies see varying levels of this, but with a timely and careful approach you can turn a customer who has had a negative experience into long term advocates of your business.

How do Hashtags work on Social Media?

Hashtags are an important tool on social media platforms as they group together content people are creating about a specific subject. Hashtags make it easier to see all the conversation around a subject, such as important events, new product launches, and national holidays.  Your business can use hashtags to get your brand and products discovered.

For the independent convenience store wanting to adopt #socialmedia what platform is best to start with?

Social media is proving to be an important touchpoint in every part of the customer purchase journey. From research to sales aftercare, customers turn to social media for recommendations, customer service and to directly make a purchase. Depending on the profile of your audience you may wish to tailor your efforts to the channel that best ‘fits’ that audience. For example a younger audience would tend to be on Instagram.

How do I get more likes on Facebook?

Getting more engagement on Facebook is putting your customers needs first. Think less about what you want to say and more about what your customer wants to hear.  Remember, your posts are seen within the context of an individual’s home feed amongst friends, family and brands they love. Your content needs to sit comfortably within their feed - be engaging, empathetic, educational, humourous, interesting or make an offer they can’t refuse. Often content that conveys the ‘story’ behind your business is received well and helps your followers build up an affinity with your brand.

How do I create a business page on Twitter to use for communication with retailers directly?

Once you get started on Twitter, you can start to build relationships with businesses in your area and within your sector.  It’s a highly engaging channel where you can share, comment and get a network established.  By using lists you can fine-tune your efforts to the businesses that matter to you.

How can I save time by posting a message that can be posted across multiple social media channels?

We suggest that you keep your posts specific to each platform as different content performs better depending on the channel it’s posted. For example, beautiful images of a product or store-front would perform best on Instagram, where as a video of how to use a product would perform better on Facebook. Perhaps to save time you could try planning your posts ahead of time. It’s better to  be posting quality content consistently than posting everyday. 

Have you got any statistical data which proves social media drives the retailers bottom line?

We know that more and more people are finding and researching their purchases through social media. Take a look at our case studies on how fast-fashion retailers are engaging customers on social media and how to increase sales on Black Friday.

How do I protect my business against people deliberately damaging my brand?

Providing great customer service and always engaging with comments from customers. It is possible to delete comments if they are unnecessarily negative. Here’s how retailers should approach negative conversation on social media.