2017 Trend Alert: What’s Hot and What’s Not in Social Media
So let us start by saying Happy New Year! As if 2016 wasn’t exhilarating enough we have a strong reason to believe 2017 will be even more interesting. 2016 was the year that Pokémon Go swept the world, Snapchat filters had us feeling some sort of way, and Instagram straight up copied Snapchat and no one really seemed to care. Also a whole slew of things happened in all aspects of the world that were straight up crazy. But there is one thing that we think is going to be a pressing subject for businesses on social media this year. And that is direct or instant messaging.
What’s Hot - Customers directly contacting businesses for customer service related questions and vice versus (business contacting customers.)
More than ever businesses need customer service. And customers more than ever (especially young ones) are beyond frustrated with corporations mistreating them and not being responsive. Crazy wait times, unhelpful chain of command, and lack of care are the main reasons millennials are bringing their business elsewhere. The SMART brands are taking their customer service to Facebook & Twitter. Why? Because it’s instant, young people prefer text or social media as a means of communication, and it’s absolutely effective. Especially when it’s executed properly.
Secondly, businesses are going to start direct messaging customer’s / future customers. Whether it’s a simple thank you message for a follow or purchase or an authentic comment, like, or follow back. This is the future of “authentic social marketing” and that is a trend that is going to take wind in 2017. So long to being a generic brand, it’s losing you customers. Say hello to authentic marketing… And that brings us to what’s not going to be hot in 2017…
What’s not hot – Automated messaging and automated responses
If there’s one things that the younger generation hates, it’s generic responses and automated messaging. And they are popping up all over to finish 2016 and they will continue strong in 2017 but they are not hot at all! There awful and impersonal. Yes, they are easy, but a millennial can smell a phony from a mile away. So be super careful.
Its important to treat each customer as a valued individual. This means responding uniquely and dealing with each issue independently and quickly. If you have a high frequency of requests, we highly recommend signing up for a social media management platform that houses all of the day to day messaging in one place for all platforms. This way you can assign one or two people to handle all of your social media customer service. In the end with the right infrastructure this way of dealing with customer complaints will be the most streamlined.
The key to 2017 is getting hot and staying hot! And being an authentic voice for your brand is exactly how to do this.
Contact us to get started today!