Customer contact via social media

  • Laura van Dijk
  • 19 November 2021
  • Edited 11 July 2024
  • 4 min
  • Managing and growing
  • Marketing

You want to build brand awareness and acquire new customers or assignments through social media. You have created profiles and posted messages, but it is not yet generating many followers or reactions. So how do you proceed? Expand your network and find potential customers via social media with this strategic step-by-step guide.

KVK research shows that, besides networking and using existing, satisfied customers, social media is in the top 3 of how self-employed professionals find customers and assignments. Do you also want to use social media for business? Follow these steps for a measurable results.

1. Define who you want to reach

First, define who your ideal client or target audience is, so you know where and who you are going to target. This can be based on general characteristics such as gender, age, place of residence. Also look at lifestyle, life phase, and interests of your target audience that match your product or service. For example, sustainability, remodelling your house or good food.

Needs and problems

Find out which need or problem your customer has that you are responding to with your products and services. The more clearly you know your target group and their world(view), the easier it will be to use your social media channels and post interesting content. After all, as a coach for young mothers, you have a different audience, channels and themes, than as a tennis coach for seniors.

2. Choose your social media channel

Using the data from step 1, now look at which social media channels your ideal client or target audience is particularly active on. This will give your business the greatest return. You can do this in various ways:

Customer research

Do you already have satisfied customers? Then see what similarities you see and ask your customers how they came to your product or service. And what trends, hashtags and social media accounts do they follow?

Competitive analysis

Look at other entrepreneurs who have a similar product or service. What channels are they on? And what kind of posts, videos, or images get the most reactions?

Specifics of most used social media channels

Each channel has its own characteristics and types of users. With Instagram, for example, you reach 15 to 45-year-olds who love beautiful pictures, interactive 'stories' and 'reels'. LinkedIn is mainly a good channel for sharing knowledge, trends and developments, and for business and professional connections. Take a look at an overview of which audiences you reach with which social media.

"I used to post pictures and texts on Facebook, but got few likes. By doing social media research, we saw that our target audience prefers watching short videos that talk about good food, drinks and conviviality. By fully investing in influencers and fun short videos, we got 10 times more visibility, reactions and sales." Thom van den Bossche, Local Taste

3. Define your goals

After choosing one or more channels, it is time to determine what you want to achieve. Do you mainly want brand awareness or also generate sales? Make your goals concrete, so you know which messages you should post. This way, you can devise a strategy and create clarity. Also determine when you will be successful.

For example:

  • I want to create a community around my shop or brand. I am successful if I have 50 new followers on Facebook in the first month.
  • I want to involve customers in innovation and product development. I'm successful if I post a message about this on LinkedIn or Instagram every week for the next 3 months and always get a substantive response.

Build a network

Building an audience and brand awareness takes time. Start by following similar accounts and post comments on posts that deal with themes and topics you also have knowledge or interest in. That way, people in your target audience can see you and start following you too.

Use hashtags

A good way to find relevant accounts is through hashtags. As a plant shop, for example, you can search for plants on Instagram with hashtags and find accounts and posts under hashtags like #plantlovers #urbanjungle. On LinkedIn, you can search for #LinkedInTopVoices for inspiration and find accounts that publish a lot about certain areas of expertise such as leadership, innovation or diversity. Do you post messages yourself? Then include hashtags that match the content of your post.

Advertising on social media

Do you want to reach new customers faster via social media, or promote your product or service on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat or LinkedIn? Then opt for advertising on social media.

4. Make a content plan

Think about a large part of your content in advance and plan it, it will save you a lot of time later. In addition, leave room for spontaneous content that you post on the spot. That way, you remain authentic and personal.

Planned content

Sharing knowledge, tips, inspiration are forms of content you can plan well in advance. Make social media posts that are actually of interest to your target audience, that way you build an audience of loyal followers. How do you do this?

  • Make a list of topics that you are very knowledgeable about and enjoy talking about. Also make a list of topics your target audience would like to know more about . Then choose topics that are on both lists. For ideas and inspiration, you can again use popular hashtags and the information you picked up in the first steps.
  • Choose different forms, headings and angles to talk about these topics. Think: a how-to video with 4 ways to use your product, a poll to ask your followers for feedback on a new idea, a review from a satisfied customer, or a blog series or vlog in which you share how your product is made.

Spontaneous content

Keep your account current and personal with spontaneous content.

  • If you go to an event, meeting or course, bring your followers along with a short video report, and also share some tips or insights you learned. Make sure you do not show other people in the video, or ask permission to use the image.
  • If you have something new, such as a product update, a customer review or personal news: make a vlog or photo of it and share it with your followers.
  • Is there something in the media that you can pick up on? Then share your vision or knowledge on current affairs, for example, with a blog.

The same brand and corporate design

Whatever content you post, make sure you have a clear corporate design that makes followers recognise you and your brand. If you always use the same kind of colours, font, imagery and tone-of-voice, you can also distinguish yourself from others. Fixed, recurring headings also work well for recognition.

Personal account or company account

With most social media channels, you can choose between a personal account or a company account. With a company account, you have more options. Customers can reach you faster and it is often easier to advertise with a professional account. A personal account is often seen as more authentic. Because ultimately, people like to work with people. So, you can also choose both.

5. Measure your results and adjust where necessary

Do not be afraid to post something, but experiment and see what works. Most social media channels offer an overview of statistics. Analyse on a monthly basis whether your activities on the social media channel are having an effect. Are you achieving your goals? Why or why not? Is this the right channel and are you posting the right messages? What posts get the most reactions? Adjust where necessary by posting more, fewer, or try different messages.

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