Social Strategist: 3 Actions Items to Promptly Connect With Your Audience Without Alienating Them

As a social strategist, it is important to quickly connect with your high value markets to participate in discussions, exchange ideas and grow your business.  As a graduate student at Northwestern University, the Medill School of Integrated Marketing Communications, I have two articles that will help you understand why it’s important to monitor social media and be opened minded beyond the feedback that you receive.

The NYTimes article United and Pepsi Affairs Force Brands to Respect Social Media by Sapna Maheshwari, discusses the importance of in-house monitoring of social sites and reacting quickly to address any situation at hand.  For example, when the United Airlines passenger video being dragged off the plane had gone viral, it reminded companies to understand the power of conversations on social media and its negative effects on the brand image.  Today, all the social media feedback is made public therefore pushing companies to invest more and build a stronger social media team.  Companies are using analytics to group data, understand the gravity of the situation and train employees to better respond with a high awareness of consciousness.

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Cass Sunstein, author of #Republic takes on a different approach to social media’s effects on society.  He states in The Economist article, In Praise of Serendipity,  that the filters used by social media limits different points of view to readers.   For example, his book talks about Facebook promoting shared experiences through similarities and people in the same circle of family & friends. Sustein believes that people should request social media to play a role to “foster a culture of curiosity and openness.”  Today, marketing is in real time and listening has become mandatory for communities and companies.  Society can benefit more from "eye opening"news and shared content if companies like FB can provide content curation with opposing viewpoint offered through an algorithm option of more or less information.

After reviewing these 2 opposing articles and from my graduate studies in the Northwestern Medill
IMC program,  I highly recommend a few action items that you should consider in your social media strategy.

• Simplify Customer Access – Make sure your brands have an easier way to access consumers in real time by investing in social media monitoring.

• Interpret Consumer Responses – Use social media analytics to tackle situations before they spread and welcome new ideas to prevent future mistakes.

• Promote Curiosity – Share opposing views with your audience by introducing to them to new sources of forums, blogs and networks.                             

As marketers, we must practice humility connecting with our audience and define new ideas to them.  If all the social media content is customized, then people will NOT be exposed to new ideas and different perspectives in life; aka democracy.

Bella Brahmabhatt is a passionate marketing and social media strategist.  She’s pursuing her Master’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communications at Medill- at Northwestern University.   Bella is a lifelong learner and you can get in touch with her on Twitter @bhatt_ta.

Marketing Strategists: 3 tips for building better relationships (because customers are people too)

The best marketing strategy won’t work if no one is listening. You first need an interested and engaged customer base, since that’s the audience for your content. By building stronger customer relationship, you will drive higher results for not just your marketing programs but sales performance too.

As an IMC graduate student, I have learned the importance of creating integrated marketing strategies that put the customer first. Here are two great articles that can help you learn how to treat your customers like humans, not commodities. 

According to The Economist Intelligence Unit’s report “How marketers will win,” marketing visionaries know marketing success in five years will be all about engagement. Marketing veteran Jim Stengel recommends you measure customer relationships like anyone else: get them to look forward to hearing from you. You’ll both benefit from a relationship built on human connection and trust.

Cultivating this type of customer relationship isn’t a new concept; it’s always been a part of sales. But creating and maintaining that value, respect, and connection is part of relationship marketing too. In the Huffington Post article “Relationship Marketing 1-2-3: Why Building Relationships Matters Most” R. Kay Green points out the key to building customer relationships is all about “providing value on a consistent, ongoing basis.” Just like a personal relationship, this takes time, commitment, and communication.

Now that you’re hooked on the value of building better customer relationships, here are 3 tips to help you get started:

• Engagement = Loyalty. Renewal, retention, and repeat purchases are all measurable marketing goals that drive better engagement, resulting in higher sales.

• Stop shouting. Your customers have a lot to say, so stop telling them what you want them to know and start listening to them through surveys, support logs and across social channels.

• Be human. All the right technology and tracking is useless unless you engage your customers in a human way through storytelling, honesty, and transparency.

Customer loyalty is all about human connection so treat your customer relationships like all other people in your life: engage, listen, and converse in a two-way dialogue.

Dana Huston I @dlhNU2015

Dana is a Master of Science candidate in Integrated Marketing Communication at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She is a senior marketing professional with experience in innovative marketing strategy, analytics, and automation solutions.