Talking to leadership about investing in your company’s social media team should be a priority. If your brand doesn’t already have a social media team established, what’s the holdup?
It’s safe to say in the past, convincing brands to invest in social media was a tough sell. But, given the evolution of social media activism and social customer care – many brands are listening and acting now.
Here are key insights you can present to your brand’s leadership on why they need to invest in social media.
Invest In Social Customer Care
Your first point in talking to leadership about investing in social media leans heavily on customer care. After growing and bubbling over in 2020, customer care on social media is where it’s at in 2021!
In fact, I was watching a news report (on a large national channel) cover the increase in travel at airports for Memorial Day Weekend. The anchor told the millions of viewers this (and I’m paraphrasing)– “If you can’t get a hold of your airline by phone or email, then go to their Twitter page. That’s where they have teams answering all your questions.”. I wanted to stand up and cheer because that’s what we’ve been saying at B Squared Media for years!
Whether it’s to rave or complain, the global platforms customers reach out to brands on are HUGE. A brand without a trained social media customer care team in place leaves itself susceptible to criticism.
If a customer raves about your brand and it goes unacknowledged – you will most likely lose them. If they rant about your brand and also go unacknowledged, then they will persist and many others will chime in- fueling the negative conversation.
What your brand needs is a social media customer care team that responds in a timely manner (preferably under an hour) and acknowledges both the good and bad.
Social Media Drives Purchases
If you truly care about your consumers and you want brand loyalty, then you need to earn it. And earning starts with social media teams that listen to the consumers and build a rapport with them. As we are known to repeatedly say at B Squared Media – think conversation, not campaign.
[Source]
The strategy with social media for driving purchases plays into brand loyalty and engagement. Not everything on social media is bad, a lot of times, it’s really good!
Brands can engage with their public as if they were a brick-and-mortar store. In other words, replace greeting a customer in person with engaging with them in the comments section of Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
[Source]
Customer care teams are equipped to answer product questions on posts. These teams are also in place to comment and like when customers share their experiences with the brand. However, they don’t always have to have the solutions. Oftentimes, the customer is relieved knowing that a human is on the other end escalating an issue internally.
This engagement strengthens the loyalty between the brand and (potential) consumers. They are more inclined to make a purchase knowing they have a connection if further questions arise.
Per Forbes, the last year saw 54% of consumers used social media. This further proves your point to leadership that a social media team is necessary to address a growing customer base on social media.
Bring In The Pros
While those two points above are valid talking points, it should also be noted that you can’t just throw anyone into the role. Social media managers and community managers are specifically trained on all social platforms.
One of the points you can make when talking to leadership about investing in social media is that outside agencies are the real pros. Agencies like B Squared Media specialize in social media (listening, customer care, content curation, paid media management, etc).
When you bring in an agency, they immerse themselves in the language and vibe of the brand. Therefore, when they ‘speak’ on social media, they speak as your brand.
There’s no need to train an entire department within your brand when you can partner with the pros!
What Are You Waiting For?
At this point, a brand without a social media strategy for social customer care efforts is really letting its consumers down.
There are few things we know for sure in 2021. One thing we do know is that social media has settled in as the new normal for customer care. The other is that consumers will do the bulk of their brand research on social media. If you’re not talking about investing in social media, then you’re leaving the brand vulnerable for no good reason.
Seize this turning point in time and talk to leadership at your brand about investing in social media. The lifeline of your brand depends on it.
What other talking points do you feel will help a brand’s leadership budget for a social media team? Let us know in the comments below!
Latest posts by Rachel Michaels (see all)
- How To Create A Blog Worth Reading - June 22, 2022
- Manage Your Online Reputation Like A Pro - May 11, 2022
- 4 Important Types Of Social Proof - April 20, 2022
