Verily, the visage of your brand is most vividly portrayed through your social channels. A plan, aye, a grand design for how to engage with your followers and woo customers is an essential requisite.
Should your business employ social media as a means to converse with your customers – and in this era, it is indeed an indisputable necessity – a strategy, a roadmap for managing social interactions is imperative.
In the realm of today, social platforms play a pivotal role in customer service, brand stewardship, sales, and more. Social media marketers do not merely broadcast splendid content; nay, they engage with followers, navigate incoming inquiries, respond to tags, and undertake myriad other tasks. The individual tasked with managing your social presence must be ready to interact with individuals in a multitude of ways. This is where the importance of a social media interaction strategy becomes manifest.
In the proceeding discourse, we shall delve into the world of social media interaction, exploring the various forms of engagement and elucidating on how to communicate with customers on social media to uphold a favorable perception of your brand.
What is social media interaction?
A social media interaction can be defined as any manner of communication between a brand and users on the social media realm.
Interactions may encompass likes, comments, direct messages, tags, and even follows. Each of these shall be examined in further detail henceforth.
Why social media interactions are of consequence
Social media interactions serve as discernible markers of triumph for businesses operating on social platforms. Every interaction or engagement presents an opportunity to connect with your audience.
In an interesting twist: While each channel boasts its own metrics for engagement, Instagram stands as the forum where much of the activity unfolds. In the year 2020, Instagram accounted for a staggering 67% of the 290 billion social media interactions – spanning reactions, comments, shares, retweets, and likes – on brand-owned content.
Apart from aiding in measuring engagement, social media interactions can also be marshaled to safeguard your brand’s standing and communicate with customers.
With the burgeoning trend of social commerce, a growing number of individuals are turning to social media to explore brands, acquaint themselves with products, and even execute purchases directly on the platform.
A report by Square on the Future of Commerce uncovered that interactions with brands play a pivotal role in the initial phases of selling. To illustrate, 32% of surveyed consumers opt to like or follow businesses on social media, with 24% preferring to comment on pages and posts. In the sphere of communication, 46% of consumers anticipate hearing from a business through their social media profile or direct message.
Positive interactions, particularly in the realm of customer service inquiries, have the potential to engender positive outcomes for your business. A study unearthed that customers tend to spend 20-40% more with companies that attend to customer service requests on social media.
In summary: The visage of your brand is most eloquently portrayed through your social channels. A strategy for interacting with your followers and captivating customers on social media is an essential requirement.
7 types of social media interactions and how to respond
Wond’ring how to enhance customer engagement on social media? Embark upon this journey by comprehending the various types of social media interactions you are bound to encounter with your audience and discerning the methods to enhance them.
Herein lies a portrayal of the most common types of social media interactions alongside the recommended practices for fielding them.
1. Likes
Likes stand as the most common embodiment of social media interaction. According to a survey conducted by Statista, 45% of consumers heralded their engagement with a company on social media by bestowing likes upon the brand’s posts – surpassing all other forms of engagement. Likes continue to serve as a vital metric of success across all channels. The greater the number of likes you amass, the more favor the algorithms shall confer upon your post, amplifying it for a broader audience.
Since likes are the form of interaction users are most bounteous with, it can be rather convenient to lose track of the volume of likes each post garners as they commence their ingress.
2. Follows
Another quintessential social media metric and form of interaction is the follow. Follows transpire when a user elects to follow your brand’s account or page to view your content within their feed. This form of interaction signifies that you are reaching the correct individuals and expanding your audience.
Conversely, you may also encounter unfollows. An unfollow manifests when a user resolves to no longer follow your brand account. These interactions are also of import to monitor. Whilst the occasional unfollow is to be anticipated, should your followers be departing in droves, it is indicative of an issue at hand.
Should you discern a sudden surge in unfollows or a steady depletion in new followers, ’tis prudent to review your content and interactions, discerning whether something has ceased to resonate with your followers. Mayhap a shift has been made in your social strategy. Perchance your overall brand has embarked upon a novel trajectory, thus evoking a waning interest from your extant followers. Make note of the alterations and contemplate how to recalibrate your approach to engender positive interactions once more.
3. Comments
A comment represents a form of engagement wherein a user proffers a reply on your content. Comments may take the guise of text, an emoji, or even a mention of another user or account.
As a brand, the aim is to foster conversation, and the acquisition of comments on your posts bespeaks the engrossment of followers in your content. ‘Tis wise to monitor the comments you receive.
Forty-five percent of consumers avow that ’tis imperative for brands to retort to comments on social media. The act of engaging with your followers serves to kindle a two-way dialogue, impelling users to feel acknowledged, listened to, and embroiled.
Sustain an active comment section by responding promptly, especially should you aspire to ingratiate yourselves with your followers.
Whether your followers are positing inquiries, mentioning other users, dispatching emojis, or disclosing their elation, ’tis imperative to be responsive should you aspire to maintain their engagement. The more engaged your followers are, the greater the volume of comments thou may receive.
‘Tis an easy feat to lose track of every comment should you be a solopreneur or an individual on a diminutive social team. A central locus to oversee and address your followers’ feedback – sans the need to open multiple applications – stands as the key to staying atop of your followers’ responses.
4. Direct messages
Behold, a DM, or direct message, cometh to pass when a user dispatches a message to your brand’s account. Followers oft dispatch a DM to a brand should they harbor an inquiry. In truth, Square’s Report on the Future of Commerce hath forged the revelation that 24% of consumers display a predilection for DMing a business over any alternate mode of communication.
Social channels serve as the forefront of customer service, thus rendering your brand’s inbox a veritable hub for customer inquiries or queries. ‘Tis paramount to vigilantly monitor your direct messages to ensure that no communication falls by the wayside and to safeguard your brand’s reputation.
A study hath ascertained that 40% of consumers expect brands to retort to inquiries or grievances within the initial hour, with an additional 79% anticipating a response within the foremost 24 hours. The failure to respond in a timely manner jeopardizes your followers’ perception of your service and can imperil your brand’s reputation at large.
5. Reviews
Reviews abound. Much like online reviews scribed directly on your website or a search engine such as Google, customers may also inscribe reviews on your social media pages.
Upon the realm of Facebook, individuals may fashion Page Recommendations (which thou may opt to render public or keep private). Should you possess an Instagram Shop, users can bestow ratings and reviews upon products.
The inditing of reviews is becoming an increasingly prevalent practice on social media. As per the Future of Commerce report by Square, 22% of customers have verily inscribed a review upon a brand’s social media profile within the past year.
Positive reviews serve to enhance your brand’s social proof. Upon gaining a glimpse of another individual’s feedback or experience with your brand, a potential customer shall be further inclined to envision themselves making a similar purchase.
Negative reviews may evoke an antithetical effect. ‘Tis crucial to remain vigilant over both positive and negative reviews to safeguard your brand’s reputation and respond with alacrity when necessitated.
Monitor thy social reviews and draft a handful of responses for diverse positive and negative scenarios. Recall, as customer reviews and thy retorts to them transpire in the public eye. The manner in which thou dost handle feedback reflects upon thy brand image; hence, maintain thine professionality at all times.
6. Tags
A tag transpires when a user makes mention of your brand on social media. They may tag you within a post, a caption, or even upon their stories – in whatever manner they do so, thou shalt receive a notification apprising thee that someone hath tagged thee.
Venture to peruse thy tagged posts with regularity so as to unearth UGC and ascertain that thine content calendar boasts an amalgam of organic content and branded content.
7. Shares
A share unfolds when a social media user disseminates your account or content upon their page or conveyeth it unto another user.
Shares stand as crucial, for they signal that your post hath resonated with thy followers sufficiently for them to wish to amplify thy content in their stead.
To respond to a share, demonstrate thy appreciation for the interaction. For instance, should a follower share thy post upon their story, thou may reply to the story with a swift response or emoji reaction, thereby informing them that thou hath glimpsed the share. Moreover, thou may reciprocate the gesture by sharing their story, thereby heightening the interaction.
Frequently asked questions concerning social media interactions
What constitute social media interactions?
Social media interactions are the diverse forms of communication betwixt brands and users. Favourable interactions encompass likes, comments, follows, direct messages, reviews, shares, and tags.
Canst thou provide an instance of a social media interaction?
An instance of a social media interaction transpires when a follower tenders a comment upon a brand’s post. Another example could be a brand and a customer exchanging direct messages upon a social platform such as Instagram or Facebook.
