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WATCH OUT FOR PITFALLS
Of course , social media is very easy to get wrong . A poor choice of words , an impulsive reaction or a misjudged comment can do damage – so make sure you consider carefully everything that is put on social media . If someone else is managing it for you , ensure you ’ ve got some objective guidelines written up that they adhere to , and an escalation plan should something ‘ kick off ’. “ You operate a customer-focused business , so being aware of how you interact with people on social media can be really beneficial ,” says Prosper M Taruvinga , Founder of Melbournebased Livelong Digital . “ Remember , everything you post on social media can be shared and re-tweeted , therefore ensure it is the best representation of your business and ethos !”
ADVERTISING ON FACEBOOK
Facebook has huge potential for local businesses , but can be a significant drain of resources and money if not managed well . Here ’ s how to do Facebook effectively . Judy Sahay , Founder and Managing Director of social media agency Crowd Media Group , offers these tips for getting the most out of Facebook advertising .
• Set up a targeted Facebook campaign to drive traffic to a conversion landing page .
• Use current database and create a ‘ custom list ’ and retarget the audience through Facebook Ads .
• Create a ‘ look-alike ’ audience and profile other people who are likely to interact with similar content .
• Create specific targeted messages with a call to action .
• The Facebook ads that have the highest click-throughs include : quizzes and polls , short videos / testimonials , CEO / Founder interviews ( no more than 60 seconds ), GIF animated post / ads and carousel ads that tell a story with a call to action .
REVIEWS , REVIEWS !
One of the positives of being active on social media is the ability to get reviews from your customers – but it ’ s also a potential negative , so you need to be mindful of this , and we ’ ll come onto that shortly .
Let ’ s start with the positives . Google and Facebook are two great ways of getting customer reviews , and you should embrace this as it ’ s the first place many people look before deciding whether or not to contact you . It ’ s called social proof .
“ Getting lots of five-star online reviews is critical because potential electrician clients often go to Google and search for " Electrician near me ", says David Katic , Owner of Digital Growth Genius . " Google now shows the star ratings in the results and if you have only got one two-star review you will have an issue generating business online .”
It ’ s a good idea to personally contact everyone you ’ ve done jobs for over the past 12 months and ask them to leave a review – you can even incentivise this by offering a monthly prize draw for someone who ’ s left a review .
Moving forward , the request for a review should be built into your processes – after sending the invoice , send another email requesting your customer leaves a review . Include the links so it ’ s as easy as possible for your customer to do .
MANAGING NEGATIVE REVIEWS Of course , if you ’ re asking for reviews you ’ ve got to accept the possibility of bad reviews . This isn ’ t propaganda , it ’ s a genuine reflection on your business . Everyone will get a bad review from time to time ; it ’ s the nature of the beast .
However , you can turn a negative into a positive pretty quickly . Don ’ t respond on the spot –
1 cool down before you type . Determine whether it ’ s
2 genuine . If there ’ s any doubt , ask the reviewer to provide a job number or similar so you can investigate . Research the incident – ask
3 the customer to contact you privately to discuss what actually happened . Understand the customer ’ s
4 viewpoint – even if you don ’ t agree with their complaint , try to understand the customer ’ s frustration . It could all be triggered by the fact you arrived late , for example . Respond privately – outline
5 what you ’ ve found , and how you propose to resolve . It could be that you change a process , or can fix something easily . If you were at fault , apologise ! Wait for the customer to respond and a resolution to be reached . Respond publicly – respond to
6 the original review with a message acknowledging their concerns , and outlining the agreement or understanding you ’ ve reached with the customer . Be polite and constructive –
7 remember , other potential customers are watching how you respond . Even if you ’ ve made a mistake , you can turn it into a positive by responding in the right way .
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