Julia Rosien is brand engineer for Restonic–a multitime recipient of the Women’s Choice Award by WomenCertified.
Guest post by Julia Rosien
One thing we know for sure on social media is that it’s constantly changing. Every day brings new opportunities. Some can be downright challenging, and others can support our dreams of a better tomorrow. One trend we love is the marriage of our digital networks to our physical world. Time to get “phygital.”
We remember the early days of Facebook. The almighty “Like” button hadn’t even been dreamed of yet, but digital communications already were evolving into a powerful life force. Little did we know how much those digital conversations would affect our real lives—and how deep that transformation eventually would become.
It’s time to embrace the phygital side of social media. To get consumers “physically” into stores, you have to satisfy their “digital” need for information. Instead of using social media as a free megaphone, let’s start looking at it as another way to serve consumers. Consider these phygital social-media strategies:
✔ Treat your social-media channels with as much respect as you do your website. Practice smart search engine optimization tactics. And remember to add rich media like video and pictures to keep your guests entertained—infotainment.
✔ Don’t lure people to social media with spammy deals. Instead, encourage your team to use your social-media communities as sales tools.
✔ Invite consumers to write reviews on your social sites, post pictures and connect with other fans of your products.
✔ Engagement is king. Responding to every single person who reaches out to you says something about your customer-service philosophy and your corporate culture.
✔ It’s not about numbers. If you buy likes on Facebook or Twitter and none of those people ever engage with you or visit a store, what’s the value?
✔ Give consumers a reason to keep coming back. Coupons, information and entertainment are all important ingredients. Sprinkle with care and listen to your community when they’re bored, frustrated, etc.
✔ Empower your community by asking them important questions. Ask consumers what they love most about your products. What do they want to see improved? What new products they want to see introduced?
