Nowadays, community management is at the core of all healthy business relationships. Selling a high-quality product is only half the work—customers also want to trust and feel connected to your brand.
Fortunately, the solution is simple—invest in a social media community management strategy. If building a network of business entities and consumers with shared interests and characteristics is a top priority for you, this guide will tell you everything you need to know about running a successful community management campaign.
Social media community management is the process of connecting with your target audience on various social media platforms. Social media marketing tools can help view, organize, and manage all communications on profiles and industry-related pages.
The process aims to push potential customers further into your sales funnel and get them to convert.
Various types of community management take on unique roles. Consider how each of the following can drive your business its desired results:
Customer support focuses on addressing consumer issues and feedback. This process typically occurs on community forums, FAQ documents, and direct messaging inboxes.
With a streamlined and automated customer support process, your team can avoid addressing repeat inquiries manually and instead focus on enhancing customer experiences.
Not to mention, resolving inquiries on social media can save your company time, prevent excess spending, and minimize resources.
Nowadays, most marketing strategies are data-driven and require robust insight analysis for business success. Analysts focus on two types of data:
You can make informed decisions regarding content positioning and upcoming campaigns with this data. Regular testing enables community managers to develop routine standards on social media efforts.
Developing a close-knit community where customers can make regular exchanges provides a valuable benefit: product and service feedback. There are dozens of user testing channels that you can implement to garner feedback. For instance:
The acquisition portion of community management underscores efforts toward brand awareness and business promotion. Acquisition programs effectively incentivize potential customers through brand ambassadorship, affiliates, and internal events.
Social media community management isn’t just a “nice-to-have” but a necessity. There are many reasons exploring online communities is a must for your business.
How positively a potential customer sees your brand will directly influence their purchasing decisions. 86% of consumers are likely to pay for an excellent online experience because of trust and credibility.
You can enhance overall experiences by providing a space where consumers can access all of your resources. Make all the necessary information as accessible as possible.
If you’re unsure of what a “positive customer experience” entails, consult with your customers directly. Get to know their pain points, interests, and characteristics through surveys, polls, and forums.
Then, find ways to motivate potential customers to make a purchase. Offer exclusive perks like early access to new products, private events, free samples, and discounts.
Nowadays, customer support is no longer limited to email and phone calls. You can quickly resolve common problems on social media, which shrinks overall support costs and enables more comprehensive support.
Leverage chatbots to provide immediate resolutions to common problems or designate a portion of your day to review queries and community posts.
In case of negative feedback, always have a crisis plan in place.
Acquisition costs are significantly higher than retention costs. Attention spans are shrinking, and the number of available options is rising. As such, focusing on retaining your existing customer base can be more sustainable in the long run.
Developing a strong sense of community is often enough to convince customers to repeat business and share your products and services through word-of-mouth.
Modern marketers aren’t focusing on sales as much as they once were. Now, they are directing their attention towards providing excellent customer support, assisting in product use, and other after-sale activities.
Spending time within your online community is the best way to learn what works and what doesn’t. By lending an ear to your loyal customers, you don’t just garner valuable feedback—you also make them feel heard.
Hearing what customers have to say humanizes your brand and encourages other consumers to learn about it. Those who are more engaged are also likelier to provide detailed suggestions about your products and services.
What better way is there to tap into long-tail keywords than by observing your consumer base’s natural dialogue? When more people talk about your business, there are many opportunities to zero in on potentially high-converting conversations.
Understanding your target audience’s language can improve organic traffic and increase SERP rankings.
Because there are multiple community management types, there are also various approaches to developing your strategy. Keeping these tips in mind can help define and direct your process.
As with any social media community management campaign, you’ll need to pick your preferred platform. Consider your audience demographics. For instance, if taking a B2B approach, your best bet might be LinkedIn. If targeting a younger and visually-oriented audience, you might be better off advertising your services on Instagram.
Note that each social media platform has unique built-in analytics tools that can help measure campaign success.
When you’ve chosen a platform, it’s time to dissect your target audience. Consider the content types that are most popular in your market and observe how they interact with similar brands.
Audience research can help tailor your content and identify the best practices for engagement. A quick and straightforward method of determining content types is to ask your audience what they want to see. Not only will you get the answers you need, and your audience will feel more engaged and involved in your process.
How successful your community management practices are will ultimately depend on how you define success. These success benchmarks will rely on your short and long-term goals and what is most appropriate for your industry.
A few success identifiers to consider might include the following.
With success metrics in mind, it’s time to define your short and long-term goals. As with any campaign, your goals should be measurable and attainable. Don’t be too vague or ambitious—work within your capabilities.
With your strategy in place, you’ll have to determine the best way to measure success. Businesses with robust social media community management campaigns rely on CRM software to track market groups and interactions. However, tracking every possible metric is not sustainable.
Narrow your performance analysis methods by considering the following methods.
Customers want to know that you value their time and dedication to your brand. After all, they are the most loyal and supportive followers you have. There are so many ways you can show appreciation for your followers. For example:
While relatively new, social media community management has proven itself a powerful and high-converting strategy for all businesses. In every stage of the community management process, always pay special attention to how your target audience reacts to your efforts.
When you master your social media community management strategy with the right tools and practices, the benefits are undeniable. You can draw in more customers, retain the ones you already have, and provide positive experiences overall. If your social media platforms lack a dedicated community manager, consult with our social media experts at Igloo to find out how we can help.
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