Community management is the means in which the distance between brands and audiences are bridged. It serves as a valuable way to retain loyal customers, entice new ones, and improve the image of your company. Without it, your brand has no approachable presence on social media, making it less likely for potential customers to support your products and services. That is why an effective community management strategy is crucial when you want to be established and well-known. It’s understandable, though, for newbies to be clueless on how to start.
With this, here’s how you can efficiently manage your social media audience.
Know your brand voice and personality
This is the first thing you have to finalize before you begin thinking about your strategy. Your brand voice is how you present yourself to the general public, including your target market. Make sure you know the personality of your brand and that it matches your service, as this will determine how you approach and respond to customers. For example, if you’re a teen’s fashion brand, it’s best for you to have a casual tone that skews towards the current linguistic trends of the youth. If you’re a luxury hotel brand, a formal, elite tone will work in selling the product. Some companies, such as Angkas, even adopt a colloquial tone that toes the line between being funny and being offensive, making for entertaining content.
Once you have your brand voice figured out, the next step is to know what it is you want out of your community management project. How many messages do you want answered? How many comments? Is your goal to generate customers, or to generate applicants, or both? Knowing all these metrics will dictate your approach to community management, from the number of assigned people, the platforms used, down to the hours allotted for the tasks. It will also help you determine if your project was successful or not.
Have a dedicated FAQ
It’s inevitable for your customers and even non-fans to ask questions about your services, products, etc. Some may even turn to your social media pages to air their grievances. Look for the common questions you receive and make a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) out of it. It’s recommended that you write the answers in a way that matches your brand voice. Of course, you’re allowed to vary your answers so that it doesn’t come across as templated and therefore robotic, but do keep the brand voice consistent when doing so.
Be present in several platforms
Having several social media pages is beneficial in spreading your digital presence and influence. It also helps you be visible across multiple demographics, as those using Facebook and Twitter may be of a different target market to those using LinkedIn. You must remember, however, that the content and style that works in one platform may not work on others. Additionally, certain brands and companies may thrive on Facebook and Instagram, but fall flat on LinkedIn. Before you proceed in the creation of the pages, know your goals and what works in servicing said goals.
Engage, engage, engage
You shouldn’t just wait for your followers to come to you with their questions and complaints. You must also engage with them even if they’re simply commenting their thanks, their opinions about certain things related to your brand, and more. For starters, if they happen to compliment an ambassador featured in your posts, don’t just leave them hanging. Thank them and give them something to look forward to when you post more content with that ambassador. You can even feature their comments or the content they create on your feed. Even the actual stuff you post should be engaging as well, so review what gets you the best responses and what doesn’t.
Put the community’s concerns above all else
Part of managing the community, so to speak, is addressing their concerns. Whether it’s informing them of the location of the branch nearest to them or giving them your contact info for their job application, getting to their inquiries in a timely manner is of utmost importance. Remember, a question unanswered is a customer lost. Make them feel valued by listening to their feedback and addressing said feedback through the best means.
Monitor and moderate
A community manager also monitors and moderates the activity on their pages. They look out for reviews – both positive and negative – and reply accordingly. They also check if their posts are littered with spam comments and malicious content. For the latter, if you see a member harassing other members or spewing offensive remarks, report it immediately. Your community should feel welcome and comfortable at all times, so a user causing chaos on your page is a definite no-no.
Practice truthfulness and humility
As much as we try to project a positive image for our brand, sometimes the brand itself underperforms. It could be in the form of a wrong delivery order, slow service times, or a rude in-store employee. Whatever the case may be, it’s best to practice transparency and humility. Address your negative feedback accordingly and take the necessary steps to assure your customers that such incidents will be dealt with. You also have to be honest and admit the brand’s fault if any, as evading that responsibility will only spell trouble for your brand’s image.
Develop the necessary community management skills
Last but not the least, the strategies you employ for better community management will not be enough if your staff doesn’t have the necessary qualities to best manage your social media. Make sure you recruit someone who has said qualities from the get-go. That way, training them will be easy. You should also ensure you equip them with efficient platforms to make their jobs easier. As much as they may have the best skills, sometimes the sheer number of messages can be quite overwhelming. With such a platform, they can get to the inquiries received much quicker.
It may seem inconsequential compared to more comprehensive and complex marketing strategies, but community management is a critical part of the whole process. Without it, your brand is just a brand – lacking a human touch. Potential customers may find it difficult to engage with your products and services. It’s quite understandable, though, to feel as if hiring a community manager is a hassle and an excess. The best action to do in this case is to hire a digital marketing agency in the Philippines that will do your community management for you so you can focus on core goals while they take care of your customers – both existing and new.
