Deciding on the type of conversation you should have with customers can be quite difficult, especially if your business is relatively new to the online space, let alone social environment. However, what I intend to do now is help you to gain a clearer understanding of what customers expect from you and how you can have the right conversation online. When i first started on social media it occurred to me that the online and offline worlds are very similar worlds and that online marketing and business is basically just old business in a new space. It is still my opinion that this is the case to a large extent. Let's take a look.
Just because you, as a business, are entering a very personal space for customers, it does not mean that you have to be extremely personal with your advice, updates, and tweets. In fact, just as in real life there are two types of relationships; business and social. There is a fine line between the two whether you are online or offline. You see, you must be likeable enough to gain people’s trust, but not so personal that it’s creepy, or indeed a relationship that leads to friendship rather than a transaction at the end. Although the difference is prominent offline, it is emphasised online. This heightened difference not only happens because building context to a situation is more difficult online, but you also have many more people that you are talking to at the same time, and that means many more eyes and different opinions.
With this in mind the types of relationships that you need with customers is where you are positioned as knowledgeable, trustworthy, helpful, and the best source for... (whatever you do as a profession) To do this you need to add value, have useful tips, provide articles and resources, as well as announcements.
Even though this may be the case, you can occasionally say something about your personal life. However, it should resonate with your target audience.
For example you could own a “wedding reception”, and you have an audience of people online who are engaged and about to get married, or have just been married. In this situation it would be ok to let your audience know that your cousin is getting married, which consequently could build hype and give you a chance to showcase some of your services. On the other hand, if Bunning’s warehouse or a builder shared the same news, it might not be received as well by their specific audience.
Like I said before, if it is relevant to a large proportion of people, i.e. if you audience is Australian and you say “ Happy Australia Day”, go for it :-)
Quick Case Study
Starbucks do a great job of interacting with their fans and producing positive engagement. Starting a conversation such as the one below is appropriate for Starbucks because of their brand image and their target audience.