When any brand is entering social media, the main reason to do that is to connect with potential customers. The comment section on any platform, including Instagram, is a very important instrument that assists in establishing this bond. The way you as a brand respond to your selected comments on Instagram is influencing the choice of many customers, hence, it is a good help your tactics. But if answering the comments under your posts seems an easy task to you, unfortunately, you are wrong.
To win more followers and turn them into customers, responding to comments requires planning and thinking through. In this article are described useful tips that will help you to build communication with your potential customers well.
Be Consistent In Your Brand Message
One of the important things that can disappoint your potential buyers is when you are not maintaining the same image all the time. This statement applies to your answers on social media as well. Be sure, many people will look through your older posts, especially if they are interested in the product. They will try to find the information they need in the comment section too, so the difference in your replies will be noticed and questioned.
To develop a pattern for the most popular replies, in the same manner, and the latest information about your products. This will help you to look more professional and solid in the eyes of your audience.
Don’t Be Afraid Of Publicity
Another reason why people follow brands on social media is the possibility to see the company in dynamic. Due to the huge competition in most industries, users are becoming more demanding and scrupulous when it comes to the choice of products to buy. This way it is easier for them to make a decision. How a brand solves problematic situations and interacts with the audience is one of the criteria that buyers consider important in their decisions. This is why social media publicity and rankings are good for you.
Replying politely and professionally to different queries, including problematic ones, will give you bonus points in the struggle for the attention of your target group. Seeing successful results of your customer services, your potential buyers will feel secure to purchase products from you as well.
Private Things Are Private
This paragraph is a logical conclusion from the previous one. Even though you must use publicity for building trust and a positive reaction to your brand, personal issues have to be discussed in direct messaging. When a person first addresses you with their problem in comments (and people do that often), the right strategy is to drive the conversation in your Direct or e-mail.
In the public section, your task is to demonstrate that you are ready to help out and want to improve your buyer’s experience. For more general questions and problems there is no need to switch the talk to your Direct. But if you see that there is something personal coming up, react quickly.
Don’t Apologize For Everything
To make your brand look serious and professional, you must regard your queries thoroughly. Some marketers believe that the customer is always right and that the brand has to apologize for any problem that can occur. But this statement is not completely true. Brands shouldn’t take fault for any negative experience that users have. To distinguish the situation when you really should apologize, you have to analyze the problem and communicate with the client.
- Don’t accuse your customer of being not careful enough with your product.
- But always include an instruction and care guide in your package.
- Before the situation escalates, take the conversation in direct messaging.
- Be polite and calm. Ask your customer to describe what happened exactly, how, and when.
- Document the process of production, packaging, and delivery, to have the evidence of your work done right, or to discover a flaw.
Don’t Try To Sell Your Product
Comments on Instagram are not an instrument that provokes sales. This is a tool for communication and bonding, along with informational function. Remember: If people are on your profile page, they are already interested in buying your stuff, so do not promote your product additionally. Leave the promotion to the caption section.
In comments, your replies that include direct promotion will only annoy users. The best strategy is to leave a comment section for casual conversations and consulting. Be attentive to what your followers are writing and give nothing more than the very answer to the question.
Humanize Your Replies
And one more reason why people like brands on Instagram is that here they meet a more personalized attitude and can communicate on the same level. So, to bond with your customers, avoid the robotic style in your replies. Address your followers as a human, creating a trustworthy and hearty image. You can offer topics to discuss and maintain casual conversations with your audience, strengthening the bond between you.
Also, try to respond individually and originally to each comment, unless this is a frequent basic question, like pricing or working hours.
Moderation Is A Must
Unfortunately, social media isn’t a place where pink ponies prance on the rainbow and puffy sugar clouds. In your experience online, you may encounter harassment, lies, spam, and simply trilling. There is no space for those in your comment section.
Deleting harassing comments will help you to keep calm and maintain a positive atmosphere in your community. But always check if the person is really your customer and has a problem before banning. This way you will be able to demonstrate that you care for your reputation and you won’t allow any informational junk to spoil the experience of your followers in your profile.
Use Comments For Social Listening
Or in other words, collect feedback to improve your business. You can monitor not only your own profile but your competitors as well, to get new ideas for your growth. Collecting insights on the current mood of the audience is a clue to providing the service that they want. Also, as you see what are the most frequent questions about your products and services, you can implement the answers in a future content plan and fulfill the needs of your followers.
Keep track of what users are telling others about your brand and you will be able to change it.
Clean Up Your Mentions
Regularly check if your brand is tagged in spam posts or any other kind of fake or inappropriate discussions. You can do that by reporting users who mention you in such comments. This can be done this way:
- Go to the comment with the mention
- Swipe to the left
- Click on the report button that appears on the right
- Choose the reason for reporting (spam)
Conclusion
Handling comments properly is one of the factors that attract users for sure. Many people are checking out how you communicate with clients on social media. So, use the comment section as another way to impress your potential buyers and pay a lot of attention to moderation and engagement in your conversations. By responding actively and genuinely to the comments you receive, you enhance your connection with potential buyers.
