Having a lot of emails in your inbox is overwhelming but at the same time, it is a bit annoying. What to read and which is the most important? In Mail, LinkedIn’s private messaging feature, is a way to communicate to your connections outside of regular email. But like every messaging service, there are good, bad, and just plain rude ways to use it!
Here are some simple things you can do to ensure your LinkedIn in mail is valuable, and not spammy:
Have a relevant subject line. We have limited time to engage, so a good subject line will get people to open your message.
Keep your message short and simple. People won’t have the time to read a lengthy message, and will just delete it. Be simple and make sure to get to the point as quickly as possible.
Quality over quantity. Having lot of connections doesn’t mean that they have the same interest so rather than sending all your connections your mail, tailor your message to the person you are sending it to. Perhaps mention content they have posted recently, or a group that you both belong to.
Include ‘WIIFT’ – ie, what’s in it for them? Why should someone open your In Mail, then respond?
You can follow up but don’t be too pushy. Leave it a week or two, then send a follow up In Mail. And definitely don’t send messages daily – it looks a little stalkerish.
And lastly, let me share with you my biggest peeve about a specific LinkedIn behaviour. I’m happy to accept connection requests from people I don’t know (as long as they are legit!). But never (and I mean never!) request to connect with someone, then add them to your email marketing database.
If I’ve connected with you on LinkedIn, I haven’t given you permission to to market to me on any other channel. For you to be able to send me email communications, I need to opt in to your email list, and be able to unsubscribe at any time.
If you want help getting more out of your social media marketing, please download our free step by step guide today!
Consumers always purchase products from the brand that they know and trust. This means that as a business owner, you need to interact well with your customers and by doing this; your customers will identify you, primarily through consistent branding. When consumers know the identity of your brand, then they will build a relationship with you, they will trust you and then purchase from you. It’s what we know as the ‘know, like and trust’ factor.
Whether you’re a retail store, cafe, online shop, boutique or even non profit organisation, your brand needs to gain proper exposure and social media can help you in reaching your target market by spreading the message to your target audience.
Social media is a cost effective way of advertising a company’s products or services but you should consider the importance of consistency in branding. You don’t want your customers to be confused that’s why it is important to have consistency.
But why is consistent branding important?
Brand consistency takes your product to the next level of marketing by bringing a level of professionalism to your business. Look at a name and slogan for your business so that your customers can easily identify you. When your customers see your logo, it should evoke emotion, and create the urge to purchase from you without even asking for them to do so. You should have a consistent display name on all your social media accounts, like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This is important because having different brand names will have the notion of confusion to your customers and this can result to your customers questioning your brand’s official name.
Brand consistency is about building trust. A customer buys and trusts the brand that they know and recognise. When consumers are trying to find a certain product, it is not just about the name but there is also an emotional decision that takes part so as business owners, you should engage your consumers on a personal level. With consistency in branding, it will engage to your customer’s emotions and through this, your brand will be trusted.
When you have consistency in your brand it will not create any confusion to your fans. One of the reasons why you have a fan page is to promote your business and what you offer. The goal of social media is to reach your audience and other potential consumers so if you will be inconsistent then, this will lead to your customers to not follow you because they might find it confusing.
Developing a consistent brand may be challenging but once you know the importance in your business then you won’t find it hard and you will see that your efforts will have a positive outcome in your business.
If you want help getting more out of your social media marketing, please download our free step by step guide today!
With two in three Australians using social media regularly, there’s a good chance your business (and therefore your online reputation) is being talked about somewhere in cyberspace. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s not.
Users take to the many platforms available, especially Facebook and Twitter, when they’ve had a wonderful experience. Conversely, when someone has had a bad experience with you, it’s safe to assume that it will end up on the internet somewhere, most likely on your own Facebook page or Twitter.
Criticism itself may not damage your brand. However, the way your business handles it will impact on your brand perception. This article from Croud shows how bad social media can get, if not done right.
So how do you manage you brand reputation in social spaces online? Here are my tips:
Get all the facts:
Your first reaction to a complaint could be to take it personally and to delete the comment. Avoid doing this. Instead offer to speak to them over the phone to establish the basis for their complaint. With all the facts you can address the problem and if appropriate offer compensation.
Stay calm:
People’s first reaction to a negative comment is to get defensive. Even more so if they feel the comment isn’t warranted but a defensive reaction often makes something minor major.
Keep calm, put your personal feelings aside, and manage the complaint objectively.
Keep on top of your social media:
Social media plays out in real time – a major strength for communicating with your customers. On the downside what could have started out as a small concern can blow up into a major one if it is not addressed quickly.
Who remembers the unfortunate Aldi campaign where followers were encouraged to ‘fill in the blank‘? Let’s just say it lead to a torrent of tweets that did not add any value to the company, and may have even done damage to the brand. But it was the fact that it took Aldi what seemed like an eternity, to attempt to shut the campaign down.
Then there’s this little gem from PayPal’s Director of Global Strategy, who learned the lesson – that no matter how hard you try, you can’t delete your tweets.
Monitor your social media regularly and always be proactive. If you don’t have the capacity to do it yourself – train designated employees to respond on your behalf. And always respond promptly.
Fix and follow up:
Mistakes happen. If your business was at fault, fix it. If nothing else it has given you the opportunity to improve your business.
With the issue resolved go back to the person who made the complaint to check that it has been resolved. By doing this you are demonstrating you listen and treat complaints seriously. Other followers will see how you have handled the complaint and will see firsthand how well you handle negative experiences.
Plan for the bad stuff:
Incorporate Negativity Management into your Social Media Strategy. Even the best business will have experienced an unhappy customer no matter how hard they work on delivery. By having a plan aimed at managing complaints, you won’t be left scrambling when the inevitable happens.
Share your Social Media Plan with your employees:
Share the plan and offer training to manage angry customers in a diplomatic way. This will make your social media strategy stronger and will improve your overall customer service experience.
GoDaddy provides a good example of having a crisis communication strategy in place. In 2012, their service went down effecting thousands of customers. As the dominate player in low cost hosting this was a major catastrophe.
They quickly responded via social media letting their customers know what happened and how it was being addressed this was followed with regular updates. The result was surprising, customers praised GoDaddy for their quick response and customer service.
This highlights the importance of having a sound negative management strategy in place. It means you can respond quickly and appropriately protecting the reputation of your business.
Above all else remember negative comments and your approach to them will play out in a very public forum where you can be easily judged. If people perceive you to have handled a situation badly it will be amplified as they retweet or comment on your post. Remember be genuine, don’t patronise or be sarcastic and show you are willing to listen and learn from your customers.
By adopting these techniques you address criticism and educate people on your brand. You can take control of the conversation and steer the negative experience into a positive one. The critic will focus less on the negative and more on the positive turning them into your strongest brand champion.
Over to you
What experiences have you had with social media and how could you have managed them more effectively?
If you want help getting more out of your social media marketing, please download our free step by step guide today!
Stay calm: