Using Social Media

to Build One-to-One
Relationships
Why engagement is
the heart of your
social strategy
People want to talk to people, not brands.
 Engaging directly
with your audience
is the heart of your
social media strategy.
How to get started
with one-to-one
engagement
TOO MANY INDIVIDUALS AND BUSINESSES ARE
USING SOCIAL MEDIA AS A PUSH CHANNEL.
B2B companies are especially guilty
of this — but they don’t have to be.
 You can build
and grow your
brand by
having direct
contact with
your audience.
You can improve
your reputation,
especially if you
are engaging
with unhappy
individuals.
You can answer
questions that
many of your
prospects and
customers
might have.
One-to-one
engagement
helps you
provide
additional
value to your
audience.
 You can
amplify your
reach.
SOURCE: FLICKR USER TERRY JOHNSTON

You can
increase
customer
loyalty.
 47%
of US consumers have a more favorable view of
brands who respond to customer service questions
or complaints on social media.

SOURCE: STATISTA
 50%
of consumers stated they would boycott a brand
due to a poor response on social..

SOURCE: SPROUTSOCIAL
 41%
of consumers will share bad experiences
with a brand with their network..

SOURCE: SPROUTSOCIAL
Respond to
comments.
 Be honest,
transparent, and
personal.
Be funny.
Offer additional value.
Ask for reviews.
Ask for product
commentary.
Conduct
polls.
Respond to comments in real time.
Tag guests.
Reference the
amazing content of
others.
ENCOURAGE
READERS TO
COMMENT,
LIKE, AND
SHARE.
 12X
higher chance of being retweeted if you ask for it.

SOURCE: BUFFER
 23X
higher chance of being retweeted
if you spell out the word “retweet.”

SOURCE: BUFFER
Consider
starting a
group.
 Ask a
question and
respond to
the answers.
 47.7%
increase in interactions on Instagram
posts when using emojis.

SOURCE: QUINTLY
Use
emojis.
What is social
customer service
and should you be
doing it?
“When customer service becomes public, it
becomes a spectator sport. If you are really good
at public customer service, then your social care
can become a new form of marketing.”

— Jay Baer
Social care helps you:

• Drive brand awareness.

• Sell more products and services.
• Humanize your brand.
• Build loyalty.
• Drive revenue growth.
 Companies that developed social care
capabilities improved year-over-year revenue
per contact by 6.7% through effective upselling,
cross-selling and customer churn reduction
versus a 12.1% decline for those without that
capability.

SOURCE: McKinsey
Financial gain could be seen in:

• increased sales

• less returns as individuals self-service

based on information from social media

• saving money
$1 vs $6
The cost of social interaction vs
the cost of a call center interaction.

SOURCE: Incite
 90%
of customers rate an "immediate" response as important or very
important when they have a customer service question.

SOURCE: HUBSPOT
 60%
of customers define an “immediate” social
response as 10 minutes or less.

SOURCE: HUBSPOT
 72%
of Twitter complainants expect a response within an hour.

SOURCE: HUBSPOT
You don’t have to
be everywhere, but
you should be on
the channels where
your customers are.
Respond to
comments.
You should
have an SLA, or
service level
agreement.
 You should
create
community
guidelines or
“house rules.”
Consider creating a
dedicated handle
for customer service
to help keep your
customer care and
marketing
messages separate.
Go beyond just
responding
and seek out
engagement.
Be authentic and
human in your
responses.
 Commit a
human
resources to
response.
There are a number of agencies that help
with social media moderation
Consider connecting
your social customer
care to an in-house
customer care team or
a call-center customer
care team.
 Develop an
FAQ
(frequently
asked
questions)
document to
use when
responding.
Consider if using a
chatbot can help.
Determine when
to take an
issue offline.
Don’t engage with a customer whose intent is to
simply argue and publicly defame your brand.
Do not delete (or hide) comments or posts unless
they go against your clearly stated guidelines.
Consider creating a
crisis response plan
to provide a
framework for social
response.
How to hit your
business goals
with social selling
SOCIAL SELLING
When salespeople use social media to interact directly
with their prospects.
 67%
of the buyer’s journey is digital.

SOURCE: SIRIUS DECISIONS

As a salesperson,
your goal is to reach
prospects in the
research phase to
influence the
purchase decision
early on.
 78%
of social sellers outsell in comparison to
colleagues who don’t use social media.

SOURCE: LINKEDIN
 84%
of C-level and VP-level buyers are influenced
by social media when purchasing.

SOURCE: IDG
PRO TIP:
Consider your buyer persona. Narrowing down who
your buyer is helps you become very focused in your
outreach strategy.
Use social listening to
identify your audience.
Follow the
right people.
Don’t be
indiscriminate
and follow
everyone.
Follow individuals who will:
1. Provide industry information that will benefit you
or your customers and prospects.

2. Expand your network (for example, partners and

suppliers).

3. Fit your buyer persona as a potential buyer of

your product or service.
Create a list of
companies or
individuals you
want to build a
relationship with
and follow them.
Provide value.
 Your pitch
needs to be at
the right time
and presented
in the right
way.
Always strive to be
authentic and don’t
use canned responses.
Contribute to
groups on
Facebook
and LinkedIn.
Try different
types of content
when interacting
with customers
and prospects.
PRO TIP:
Spam is everywhere. and you don’t want to be
lumped in with nefarious sales people.
Build a relationship first.
Don’t invade spaces that people may consider
to be personal and private.
 Be yourself.

Be yourself.