Let’s face it. Social media is a big deal. We’re all part of one social media or another, and oftentimes, social has become our primary source of news and information, having now almost completely replaced traditional sources such as television and newspaper, etc. At the same time, social media is a very personal and informal space where we mostly connect with people we know, along with content outlets as well as the brands we like.

In fact, social media is one of the most direct ways for any brand to connect with its consumers. According to a Sprout Social study, when consumers feel connected to a brand, 76% would choose them over a competitor, whereas 57% would spend more with that brand.

Brands today don’t need convincing that they should be part of social media. Most brands are already active on it. However, many brands are using social media as any other marketing channel, without really understanding how to leverage it the right way. The question then remains, as a brand, are you creating the perception that you seek from social media and are you maximising the demand generation potential that social media brings? Read on to know more about how you can leverage Social CRM to engage your target audience! 

Marketing is being shaped by consumers

Because of social media, consumers now have way more say in any brand communication than before. This, two-way interactive communication and engagement is the biggest difference brands must consider while developing a social media marketing and CRM strategy. The content you put out should reach your ideal audience, and to do that it’s essential to listen and engage with them on a personal level. 

Focus on creating awareness

Consumers are often looking out for new brands and products on social media. As a brand, your objective should be to drive more awareness about your offerings to your consumers. You must create content in multiple formats such as images, videos, infographics etc. which can help make your content diverse and attention-grabbing. Running an interesting contest among your social followers is a good way to keep them engaged while rewarding them for their support and increasing your conversions at the same time. Making use of user-generated content is another great way to build credibility.

Personalization is valued

Consumers expect brands they shop from to know and understand them. If you can personalize your communication on social, it is bound to be extremely impactful.  According to a digital agency, Wunderman, 79% of consumers want brands to actively demonstrate that they care about receiving their business, a concept they call “wantedness”.  A data-driven approach is essential to build the levels of personalization consumers seek in order to drive increased engagement and sales for the brand. This is where your social CRM strategy program plays a vital role. 

Bata Malaysia Social CRM Case study

By combining the CRM data you possess on your consumer demographics and behaviour, along with rich consumer profiling and segmentation that most social media platforms are capable of today, you can create hyper-personalized, hyper-targeted campaigns that can give you exponential RoI.

Bata Malaysia linked their CRM data with social media and got 57X RoI from their social media campaigns. The team was able to run a social campaign based on their consumer’s offline behaviour and was able to track how consumers were interacting with them online, and how many of them actually walked into their stores bought the products offline. This allowed for accurate RoI assessment and rich campaign performance data which allowed them to keep improving the performance of their campaigns. They also found out that their social media promotions were much more efficient than their traditional SMS and email campaigns. Read more of their story here.

In conclusion, an optimized social CRM strategy is a great way for brands to target and win over consumers in the digital age. However, they need to keep a few things in mind like – social media is an interactive, intimate medium. Put your points across in an attractive way, and make consumers understand that you value them. 

Kapil Raj