How do you promote your business these days?
Pose this question to any number of companies, in practically any area of expertise, and you are likely to get a similar response: social media. All of the various social media platforms available mean that just about any business can find the right channels to suit their message and their industry.
Engagement is the aim of social media, and it’s a good start. But to more deeply connect with your audience, you have to step away from the social media platform and delve a little deeper into conversation. That’s where your company’s website can serve as the delivery point for more meaningful connection. It’s also where your company can exercise more control over your message.
Unfortunately, “exercising control over the message” on a website doesn’t necessarily align a company’s view of itself and potential customers’ view of that company on social media channels. This disconnect can be more damaging than companies realize. All too often, companies fail to make the connection between the relevant here-and-now of social media and the “official message” of their website. As long as the barrier exists between the two, social media and the company website cannot work in tandem.
But by engaging with the chatter and content found on social media channels, companies can foster a greater connection to customers who follow that chatter to the company website. This requires an adaptability of the website and its’ content to be effective. Tailoring website content to reflect the interests and issues that customers indicate are important to them can be a powerful way to elevate the company website beyond its’ function as a marketing tool. Your website becomes a resource for your customers, establishing your company as a trustworthy, go-to authority.
The bottom line?
If you aren’t already, inject a more human element into your communications. Pay attention to what’s being said about your company on social media channels. Step out from behind the shield of your company’s official view of itself and engage customers in conversation. Then hold up a mirror to their interests and concerns when they arrive at your website. People are far more likely to continue to engage with a business that focuses on the things that appeal to them, particularly in relation to your product. By using social media to make your customer the focus of your company website, your business will reap the rewards that this engagement produces.