Page 74 - Social Media Marketing for Dummies

Here are some SMM tactics that you can use at the consideration stage:

» Publish customer ratings and reviews on the corporate website.
Make sure that ratings and reviews appear for all products and that you do
not censor them. Even if a product gets negative reviews, publish them. In all
probability, customers will choose other products from your company. You
won’t lose the customer completely.
» Point to authoritative third-party reviews.
It’s important to point to credible third-party reviews from recognized experts
so that you build trust. Doing so can make the consideration stage a
shorter one.
» Encourage prospects to discuss the products.

When you’re designing your online catalog, encourage prospects to discuss
the product with their friends and family. Make it easy for them to take the
product into Facebook to solicit opinions from others using services such as
ShareThis (www.sharethis.com), pointing users to the brand’s business page
on the social networks, and including email links, too.
» Connect prospective customers to each other.
By setting up discussion forums, you can create spaces where prospective
customers can exchange notes on the potential purchases that they’re
considering. Also point them to existing satisfied customers or real-world
testimonials that visitors can rate and comment upon.

» Set up a Twitter account and respond to customer queries.
It’s important to watch the chatter about your products and brands across the
social web. Where appropriate, respond in a thoughtful, helpful manner to the
questions raised. Correct misrepresentations of your products in a similar
way, especially those on Twitter.
Twitter is useful for customer service. Companies such as Comcast have had
great success in using it for responding to customer queries and concerns.
But the tone you respond with is critical: You always run the risk of sounding
defensive. You’ll probably be doing more damage to your brand than good if
you allow yourself to get defensive on Twitter.
» Track a list of websites, blogs, and discussion forums where the prod-
uct’s target customers spend their time.
Track activity on these sites, and participate in conversations about the
category, competitors, and customer needs in an authentic, productive, and
useful manner.

58 PART 1 Getting Started with Social Media Marketing