This Idea Spark blog post is the result of the discussion during our Friday morning Creativity Coffee. If you’d like to join us (in person or via web/phone conference), please sign up here. There’s no charge or obligation. We just love ideas and open discussion!
The last two Creativity Coffee discussions centered around Social Etiquette and Facebook Etiquette—the rules of engagement. If you are aware of the rules of engagement, what are some acceptable and effective practices for outreach to engage a new consumer with the hopes of starting a dialogue? Here are the ideas sparked during our last Creativity Coffee.
- How do you open the dialogue?
- Thanks. Has a consumer made a positive comment about your brand? Thank them. Be genuine.
- Question. Has a consumer made a comment about looking for a product in your market? Have they stated a preference? Ask them a question to see if they will engage with you. Make sure it’s not a direct sales pitch like, “Have you tried our product?” or you could immediately alienate the consumer. However, if someone states that they are looking for a specific type of product that fits your product line, ask a question about what they need. Be on the lookout for a response—and your opening for creating a dialogue!
- Comment. Did someone post a comment, a link, a tidbit that fits your product or market? Comment back to the consumer with a compliment, a suggestion or a helpful piece of information. For instance, if someone posted a picture of their cute dog and you’re a dog food company, comment back with an opening like, “Love that picture of spot. You should enter it into our Dog of the Month contest—Spot is so cute! Here’s the link…” Or if someone is concerned about what they’re feeding their dog, you should comment about what proper nutritional elements are in a good dog food and what could be causing problems. Be helpful and provide value. Don’t try to sell. Remember, you’re trying to be social!
- Make it personal.
- No robots. Social consumers are savvy. If they see a comment from you that’s repeated over and over (think “scripted”), they will quickly be able to see your lack of personality and shy away from engaging. Who wants to talk to a robot?
- Be specific. Use the contact’s name. Address specifics about their comment, question, posting, etc.
- Be genuine. You’re speaking for your company, but your personality shines through in your dialogue. Make sure that your comments pertain to your real interest in the consumer…not fake enthusiasm. If it’s fake, someone will notice. If your brand is a known public brand, they might even call you on it.
- Use a contest to draw people in.
- Use some sort of contest to get people to engage with you.
- The pet pictures example mentioned above doesn’t have to be for a pet brand. Recently, a community bank used a community pet photo contest to engage more deeply with the local community. Better yet, this kind of contest is viral—people will share their entry with family and friends in order to get votes! Be careful—make sure you do not misuse registration information. Registering for a contest should not automatically cause an opt-in for marketing communications. Use the opportunity to ASK for an opt-in, but don’t make it the default. If you do, you’ll alienate potential customers and tarnish your brand.
- You can use both digital and traditional media to promote your contest.
- Use content that truly engages people and reflects your company’s values.
- Community causes. Whether your “community” is local, national or international, you can connect with consumers who share your values. Many companies are supporting causes that reflect their core values, and these causes can be a vital way to connect with the community.
- Use social media to publicize. Reflect the messages used to create awareness in other media on social media as well. Use social media to report on progress, share stories and to get people engaged.
- Example: Dawn Saves Wildlife. A dollar from every purchase (when a code is entered onto their website) is donated by Dawn to saving wildlife. This spurs purchases and engagement and resonates with people who care about ecology and animal welfare.
- Example: Supporting local charities. A community bank donates money to a local non-profit and posts the pictures of the donation ceremony on Facebook. Tons of people “like” and “share” the story and picture with others. A press release may have been picked up by a local paper and, for most part, ignored. But this kind of community work is a great positive social PR story.
- Take your time, try different mixes and be patient.
- Some markets are harder than others. For instance, how does a CPA engage with potential customers?
- Use the Five C’s of Following People.
- Try different mixes and types of content, from informational, educational, fun and conversational. Make sure that you interject some product information as well, but not too much (less than half of your content should be product-based).
- Blog. It’s one of the key ways to continue to add content to your website to increase search engine rankings and to be found organically.
- Stick with it. All this takes time and resources. Make sure you stick with it, or your brand will be seen as anti-social, dis-engaged, a dead stick.
What is working for you? What kinds of conversations have you started lately? Have they resulted in new customers? Join the conversation!
