If you want to reach more customers using social media, talk to these two types of people
Social media can support many business goals – from developing a strong brand tone of voice to delivering quality customer service. However, I have found that my clients are most often turning to social media to reach more customers. This is especially true for small business owners who are often laser-focused on finding new customers and are turning to social media to get in front of them.
There are two types of people you need to talk to if you want to reach more customers through your brand’s social media channels. In this article, I outline who these people are and offer specific ways you can engage them.
It’s more straightforward than you may think so let’s get straight into it.
I hate stock images but it’s worth using one to get this message across: put your customers at the centre of every business decision.
Talk to your customers
Customers should be at the heart of every business decision you make – and marketing is no different. Your customers are an incredible source of information.
Let me put it simply: if you want to know how to reach new customers, ask your current customers how they found you.
I recently attended a masterclass hosted by American Express and heard from Simon Holloway, the Sales and Marketing Director of Vegepod Global. Simon shared that Vegepod sets aside time each year to call their customers directly and ask for feedback. Rather than relying exclusively on online surveys, Simon recommended that business owners pick up the phone and speak directly with their customers.
In addition to direct calls, there are a number of ways you can collect customer feedback:
Use the polls feature on Instagram Stories.
Add a question as part of your online checkout process.
Create a survey using a free service like Google Forms and incentivise customers to complete the questionnaire using a bonus or discount code.
If you’re a brick-and-mortar business, ask your customers next time they come in-store. Many customers will be more than happy to share their stories about how they found you.
Business owners can use these calls with customers to learn about:
How they found your business
Why they’re buying from you
What you can do better
In addition to collecting customer feedback, you can use tools like Meta Business Suite and Google Analytics to observe trends in customer behaviour and optimise your social media content accordingly. For example, if you can see that most website traffic is coming from one social media channel (let’s say Facebook) then this may inform your decision to dedicate more time to a well-performing platform like Facebook and divert resources away from an underperforming platform like TikTok.
Talk to a social media marketing expert
Sometimes business owners can be too close to their own business to see what they’re doing right and what they could improve on. If you’re working to reach more customers, it can be worthwhile to work with a marketing professional who can help you take your social media to the next level.
Many business owners think that a social media manager is the only type of marketing expert that can improve their social media. While social media managers can be the right resource for many businesses, there are just as many businesses that can’t afford to pay for an additional team member or an ongoing social media management retainer. There are also business owners who may be able to afford a social media manager but would rather manage their social media themselves. In my experience, many small business owners see better results talking to a social media marketing coach or consultant, compared with handing over control to a social media manager and hoping they will see results.
Coaches and consultants are professionals who use their marketing expertise to work with you to improve your social media marketing. This can involve offering expert advice for you to implement, working to improve your workflow to make content creation more efficient, or holding you accountable for taking action.
Here is an example I shared on Instagram last month from a client who completed a consulting session with me.
There are a few reasons you may work with a marketing coach or consultant to help you reach more customers using social media:
You want a fresh pair of eyes to evaluate what you’re doing and offer personalised social media advice – not a cookie-cutter approach.
You intend to get better about using social media but it always falls to the bottom of your to-do list.
You could be overwhelmed by too much information or confused by conflicting advice on social media best practices.
You may want to retain full creative control over your social media content but would like an expert to support you with analytics.
You’re reading articles, attending free webinars and saving Instagram posts with social media tips but aren’t taking action or seeing results.
Because every business owner will be engaging a professional for a different reason, a good coach or consultant will tailor the sessions to align with your business needs. Compare the consulting session I ran with Priscilla with these two sessions I ran with Jessica.
Now it’s time to take action
Identify how you’re going to get feedback from your customers and articulate what you’re looking to understand.
Book a meeting if you’re interested in speaking with a professional. I offer free discovery calls where we can discuss your business goals and how social media can help you achieve them. You could even use the session to recieve more specific advice on the best way for you to seek customer feedback! If you’re ready to skip the introduction and dive right in, you can book a Power Hour or Breakthrough Session below.
This blog post is part of a series focused on helping small business owners reach more customers using organic social media marketing.
If you found these marketing tips helpful, I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to send me an email or message on Instagram.
