Page 117 - Social Media Marketing for Dummies

(www.twitter.com). Your customers may be gravitating to that service and
could be discussing your brand and forming opinions about your product
there. Your SMM voice is needed to simply build awareness of your products
and services, communicate accurately about the products, and dispel any
myths about them on these social platforms.
» Forging deeper, more trusted relationships with your customers.
Sometimes your SMM voice is important to simply deepen your relationships
with your customers. It may be focused on giving them category purchase
advice, sharing tips and tricks about your product, and helping them through
product purchase or upgrade decisions. In other instances, it may be about
simply participating in conversations and being a helpful representative of
your brand in ways that enhance your consumers’ lifestyles or their sense of
who they are.
» Responding to customer service and product complaints.

When customers are struggling with products, they often complain about
them in conversations with their peers or other people who are facing similar
challenges. You have a huge opportunity to listen in on these conversations,
hear those concerns, provide customer support where you can, and learn
from those complaints. Some of the most dynamic examples of companies
embracing the social web successfully have been from companies hearing
complaints on platforms such as Twitter, responding to them in real time, and
providing superior customer service. The ROI (return on investment) of this
strategy is easily measurable. The shoe company Zappos (www.zappos.com),
acquired by Amazon in 2009, conducts this customer interaction successfully,
as shown in Figure 5-1.

» Providing discounts and promotional information.
Most brands offer discounts and special promotions on a regular basis. What
better way than to share these than via the social platforms as well?
Increasingly, brands are forming micro-communities with passionate brand
advocates for the purpose of offering them special discounts and promotions
before extending them to the wider public. This strategy builds buzz for the
brand on the social web and deepens the connection between the most loyal
customers and the brand.
If you do offer discounts and special promotions, you must be prepared to
redeem them. Account for the promo to be successful; when it is, your
company won’t have trouble redeeming it.

CHAPTER 5 Developing Your SMM Voice 101