Do you recall Jean-Claude Van Damme landing the “epic splits” between two Volvo trucks in a commercial? The video went viral in 2013, and more than 80 million people have watched it on YouTube to this day. So, what can you do to duplicate Volvo’s success?
The first stage is to figure out what kind of message you want to convey in your film. Videos go viral only when they communicate in a specific way. The first type of communication that succeeds is one that is brilliantly funny. But, in order for this to succeed, the message must be more than a little amusing. It has to be so amusing that people are rolling on the floor laughing. If you need an example, try Googling “Chewbacca mask mom” and see how long you can go without laughing.
The second form of communication that truly connects is one that has a “WOW” factor. To put it another way, there’s something amazing about what happens in the video that makes people want to share it. The classic clip of a TV woman talking about vehicle accidents while a car crashes behind her is a fantastic example of this.
Emotional messages are the third type of message. It makes no difference what the emotion is. Landscape movies with voiceovers of people explaining the transient, precious aspect of life, for example, are always a hit. In 2004, the author created such a video. It’s called Time Movie, and it’s gotten over 4 million views!
Other forms of messages are fine, but if you want to obtain shares without paying for them, you should stick to the three mentioned above. Remember that great viral material, regardless of the theme, should always be relatable to the audience.
What makes your audience laugh, gasp, or sigh is more important than what you find humorous or touching. The content will be shared by the viewers, but only if it appeals to them. So put yourself in your clients’ shoes, share your ideas with others, and always ask for feedback.
Consider the possibility that your favorite Italian eatery has a Facebook profile. You like the page so you can keep up with any interesting developments, but after a few weeks, you’re underwhelmed with the results: the restaurant only posts one photo every week and doesn’t even respond to your creative dessert recommendation with an emoji.
Instead of making you a bigger fan of the restaurant, your interaction with its social media presence makes you believe it doesn’t care about its consumers. It was clearly a miscalculation on their part.
So, how can you keep your organization from following in their footsteps? It’s all about interacting with others. Many businesses want to maintain control over their message and only use social media to distribute content that has been approved by their public relations department. This may have sufficed in the past, but nowadays people want to be heard, and social media would be nothing if it didn’t allow for human connection.
Rather than posting as much as you can anywhere, think about how you can engage your customers on a regular basis while making them feel important. To begin, simply select a platform and dive in. It’s helpful to know that there are three fundamental sorts of social media when deciding which one is suitable for you.
For starters, people use conversational social networks to keep up with their hobbies, whether it’s politics, sports, or natural disasters. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are examples of appropriate forums for exchanging links, conversing with customers, and initiating debates.
There are other visual social sites, which focus on images and video. Instagram and Pinterest are the primary participants in this game. Finally, there are dark social networks, which are social media sites where only users engage. Consider Whatsapp and Snapchat, both of which have a large user base but pose challenges for businesses wishing to use them for marketing.
Simply said, if photographs are your strong suit, Instagram is the way to go. However, if you want to use social media to provide customer care, Facebook is a superior option. Social media can be a great, exciting arena for everything from showing off your amazing camping trip to discovering new friends with similar interests. Even more fun is putting together a profile for your company. Make sure you follow three general steps to make this a success.
Your major goal should be to attract attention to your profile at initially. This can be accomplished by posting things that will engage potential customers while remaining present and consistent. It’s a good idea to spend a few hours a day on your platform to accomplish this.
Begin following accounts and initiating interactions with them from there. People will become more aware of you as a result of your interactions with others. You’re ready for the momentum stage once you’ve gotten that far. This is where you start working toward your aim of engaging your fan base on a regular basis.
This procedure can be complicated, so it’s time to get organized. To stay organized, use tools like Hootsuite, which allows you to manage all of your posts and comments from a single dashboard, as well as schedule new posts and maintain the quality of your interactions.
Finally, you must broaden your horizons. You’ll be ready to go on to the next platform once you’ve mastered one. Just remember to take it one step at a time, as you did before. You’ll increase your chances of success if you stick to this structure. Having said that, it’s equally critical to maintain your authenticity and be yourself. People want to learn more about the people behind the scenes, so don’t be afraid to voice your viewpoint or get personal with your clients.
It used to be difficult to express your dissatisfaction with poor customer service. To get your point through as a consumer, you had to write a letter or contact a hotline, which most people were unwilling to do.
However, these days, almost anyone may complain, which has changed the landscape for businesses. You must have a decent approach for dealing with angry clients in today’s society.
After all, when a customer calls your hotline to complain, only you and he can hear what’s going on, which makes it easier to dismiss. When customers post about you on your Facebook page, though, other customers can see it as well. Google search results can even pull up blog entries and tweets.
When individuals share happy experiences or answer questions so you don’t have to, this level of accessibility is fantastic, but when a complaint is posted through social media, it can be disastrous. To put it another way, any publicity is no longer good publicity. Your reputation might be ruined if you handle social media concerns incorrectly.
So, if you make a mistake, apologize as soon as possible. Take the cafeteria at Tufts University as an example. The cafeteria workers didn’t just stand by silently when a customer complained about the quality of the fruit in the dining hall, adding, “I’ve just eaten the most DISGUSTING apple in the world.”
Instead, they apologized, asking the client where she purchased the apple and explaining that “it’s fresh fruit and can go bad, but we should be able to catch it before it gets to you.” The employees could have easily dismissed the issue as a trivial oversight, but by listening and apologizing, they were able to calm the customer while also making a positive impression on others.
Marketing is all about relationships in today’s corporate world. To truly expand your business and stay ahead of the competition, you must treat each customer as an individual, which requires active outreach, careful listening, and intelligent responses. Spam calls and attention-getting advertising are no longer sufficient.
So instead of emulating other businesses, trust those around you. While successful businesses are likely successful for a reason, you shouldn’t simply copy their strategies. After all, most of the things that brought them to where they are today are largely invisible to you, and many of the tactics they employed may be worthless in the current atmosphere or in your particular situation.
Instead, enlist the help of trusted friends and acquaintances to provide you with candid criticism on your company. These are the ones that really matter, and aggressively seeking out other people’s ideas is a certain approach to improve your company.
Check out my related post: Does your company need cross functional collaboration?
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