What makes consumers respond to messages of brands in social networking and connecting with them? This is the million dollar question, the question that all brands would like resolved quickly and that all would like to find a quick (and efficient) response. In the era of social networks, brands are obsessed with knowing what is the element that makes the difference between success and failure in that connection with consumers is concerned.
Studies have been making it clear several things and have been doing away with the old ideas about what worked and what did not in the field of social networks. In the early days, when social networks were starting and when brands were beginning to position themselves in this area, it was believed that it was important to have figures ‘weight’. The marks were given to a race for who had more fans, more fans and more whatever, because what mattered was the end to have a number of impact between surnames social brand. The important thing was to be the brand that had a million fans, or what touched.
Was this a really efficient decision?
The marks were given to maneuvers to grow and grow, but not always these growths were actually linked to clear returns associated with the brand. Suddenly, everyone wanted to accumulate fans and made contests of all kinds of fur and condition for this, forgetting that on the road were filling their databases of some valuable followers (and only coming for the prize) and no connections really significant. The frenzy fizzled numbers and brands sought new elements that should tell them what to do and if they were doing right or wrong. And in that search for new benchmarks it was when it appeared the power of engagement. The engagement became the major element needed and fashionable.
The engagement is basically the answer to show consumers the content brands publish and the actions they take in social networks and address the gaps total numbers of followers, is an indicator of real reactions. That is, it shows that really what is done is having a clear effect on the recipient. Therefore, the engagement has become one of the great obsessions of brands in social media strategy but how to generate it? What makes things generate engagement?
Over recent times has been investigated and defended the role that certain elements in generating engagement. They work very well messages that are associated with emotions, showing a commitment to certain values or that are very suitable for that exact moment. But the engagement is necessary to add another element: it is also very important to the reputation of the brand launches that message.
The engagement and reputation
One of the elements that are not usually included in analyzes of engagement and what causes it or not is what brand is launching this content, but the fact is that (recent analyzes have demonstrated this) the engagement is also very strong by the who’s who publishes what it publishes.
As noted in BizReport, focus on reputation can be a very good strategy to achieve a good ratio of engagement. Wanted is feedback? We must have a good image and reputation if consumers really want to connect with the brand.
“Simply having a good reputation as an issuer is not enough, must be exceptional,” Scott Roth
In this case, what sustains this statement is a study of ReturnPath, which has analyzed the relationship between brand image and answer that gets in email marketing and therefore has focused analysis on how they interact with brands and consumers in email segment. “Simply having a good reputation as an issuer is not enough, must be exceptional,” says Scott Roth, general manager optimization email at Return Path. As noted, the difference is already in the least. Not worth to be between 71 and 80 (out of 100) in reputation, must be between 90 and 98 (a note outstanding) if you want to have an optimal result. These brands manage their messages reach the consumer, these read them and especially that generate fewer complaints.
Although data are linked to what happens in the email, you can easily extrapolate to what happens in social networks. Consumers are much better messages brands they trust, in which they have confidence and that therefore believe they will find relevant things. Not only is much more likely to click on what is offered, but also to respond to it (one feels more inclined to give me like what it considers reliable than what you do not just see really solvent) and share with their own contacts.
The importance of reputation is such that is what makes companies have to be very efficient in protecting what they say and what your employees do on their profiles and have to be able to extinguish potential fires arising associated with what can do (each company has its own instruction manual for this). Err on social media is very easy and can happen to anyone. To step out of that mistake is almost mandatory if one wants to maintain a good reputation and therefore continue to maintain a good relationship with consumers and, above all, causing them to respond to what is done, to commit to the contents are released.
