Social media is important in today’s world, but it seems to be a daunting task for most distribution companies. It can seem downright overwhelming to come up with topics to post about on a regular basis. Most businesses feel this way – not just distributors. Watch the following video to get started on the right foot by learning more about how to give customers what they want via social media:

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If you have a Facebook or Twitter account, but you are unsure how to get the most out of them, there can be a real feeling of uncertainty as to where to begin with social media. How do you know if you’re posting the right messaging? What should be the focus of each post? The key to solving these issues is to simplify.

There are really two fundamental things to consider when thinking about social media marketing:

  • What your customers want
  • Where they are (what social media platform they are using)

How to Learn What Your Customers Want

To learn how to give customers what they want via social media, you have to know what it is they want! You may have some ideas about what your customers want, but those are just that … ideas. The best option is to simply ask them by reaching out to them with a customer survey. Make a list of what you feel your customers’ top ten or fifteen priorities are, and ask them to rank the list in the order of what they want to learn more about. Also, allow the ability for customers to submit their own concerns. They may provide you with details you had not previously considered.

This strategy lets you know what kind of topics to be focusing on in your social media posts, and you now have a list in order of importance that you can use. This kind of tactic can eliminate a lot of the guesswork that can come from using a less organized, more “ad-hoc” social media strategy. Consider repeating the survey process on an annual basis to keep ahead of any changing trends in your area of business.

How to Know Where Your Customers Are

Once you know what social platforms your customers are using, you can narrow your focus to those particular areas. From there, you can create and repurpose blog content into posts that can be assigned to the social media channels that you know your customers are using. You can even build up a social media calendar of scheduled postings of what pieces of content to post on what particular channel. The content can be rotated throughout each social channel, making sure that all customers have a chance to see it.social media

Use these two pointers to get started towards more in-depth social media marketing. How to give customers what they want via social media, in other words: If you can be where your customers are, and you are addressing the concerns that they have, you are on your way to making a more meaningful and lasting connection.

Dr. Jeanne Hurlbert, President of Hurlbert Consulting, brings to her role as STAFDA’s endorsed customer service consultancy expertise in sociology and survey research. After spending more than 25 years in academia, she now uses her extensive behavioral science expertise to help companies like yours distinguish yourselves through customer service. What sets her approach to customer service apart is that she begins by helping companies meld research and marketing to find out exactly (a) what their customers want and (b) how well they’re succeeding in giving customers what they want. Jeanne provides STAFDA members with 30 minutes of complimentary consulting per year; please identify yourself as a STAFDA member when you contact her. You can schedule a consult with her by going to www.ConciergeCustomerService.com or you can call her at 888-590-9677. And, if you’d like to complete her complimentary assessment, just go to www.FixYourService.com.