In the good old days, brands would broadcast carefully crafted messages; consumers had no public platform to voice their opinions or experiences and feedback had little role to play. Brands were all powerful in their communication. Nowadays, with the advent of social media, consumers cannot only express themselves, they can share their views, garner support from other like-minded consumers and reclaim control over brands.

So where does that leave brands? Three options spring to mind:

1) Ignore the conversation

2) Be part of the conversation

3) Lead the conversation

Option 1 is not viable as social media is now an integral part of the Millennials’ life (those aged 18–34). According to a survey from Elite Daily, Millennials want brands to engage with them on social media and to be part of their product development team: 62% of Millennials say that if a brand engages with them on social networks, they are more likely to become a loyal customer; and 43% say that Facebook is the social network that most influences their spending habits, followed by Instagram (22%) and Pinterest (12%).

So better to be ready and engage in the conversations – but how do you do that?

Well, listen before talking! Social media-listening tools are now pivotal to a brand’s strategy. Today’s technology enables marketers to see the conversations held around a topic, its brand, products and competitors, the sentiment surrounding them, the words used and those that resonate with audiences, and who the influential authors are – and they can track social media campaigns. This insight is crucial to craft content that is relevant, valuable and timely. Pick up the words used by your audience, rather than corporate jargon, and sound authentic and human. For example, you have banked on the sugar-free qualities of your product and through social media listening you discover the buzz is around antioxidants, which your product is packed with. Time to adjust your campaign.

Identify the pain points around your products and services and address them. Provide genuinely helpful information and you will buy good will and advocacy and establish yourself as the go-to expert. Educate about antioxidants and their benefits. Track your social campaigns and learn from them. Which blogs or Twitter authors have been the most supportive or obtrusive? Why? This will allow you to move onto the next step: leading the conversation. Once you have identified your allies, take the lead, involve them and invite them to collaborate. When launching a new product, ask people to submit ideas for the packaging. If you have not done this already, you should – the survey from Elite Daily found that 42% of Millennials are interested in helping companies develop products and services.

Social media is a force for change, and provided you listen the change will be for the good. There are great solutions available, from free social media-listening tools such as Social Mention, to licensed products such as Radian6 and Brandwatch, which enables you to just do that.

 

By Bénédicte van Boxel, Innovations Director at The River Group.

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