In modern business strategies, social media play a huge role, as for startups, as for established brands. Instagram in particular, is one of the most comfortable and useful spaces for developing a business. The secret of success lies in the ultimate connection that is grown between consumers and brands. Instagram can be an instrument not for promotion solely, but for communication with the clients as well. Instagram can be regarded as a full-time alternative to the business blog too. Also, running a profile on Instagram and investing in engagement is easier and faster to get results.
For consumers, Instagram is often a more effective way to approach the brand. Communication through social media is less official and thus people feel comfortable asking questions and share their feedback. For businesses, this is an opportunity to collect fresh and genuine opinions about the products and services that they provide.
So how does Instagram help to improve the service and customer experience? Let’s find out in this article!
Share The Contacts
For creating a friendly atmosphere and comfortable approach to a brand on Instagram, you will need to provide all the ways to contact you. It is extremely important to make access to your contacts easy to access. Different customers can use different channels for getting the information they need. Some would address within Instagram Direct, and others might prefer a phone conversation or e-mail.
Don’t forget to create a separate e-mail address and popular messenger profiles, so the communication with the clientele goes easier. This will also help you to sort out all the queries and organize your work.
Luckily, there are a few options that will help to make your brand accessible.
- Place the contacts in your bio. This is the first thing that appears in your profile, thus the most popular channels for communication have to be placed there.
- Use the features that Instagram provides for a business profile, e.g. the possibility to add buttons that access e-mail, phone, and Direct
- Encourage customers to write to you through the information in your posts and stories.
Place FAQ’s On Instagram
Frequently asked questions are perfect posting material. In any sphere of business, there would be common facts that should be displayed to save time for both customers and the company’s management.
FAQ’s is a kind of evergreen content for your Instagram. For example, new followers might be lazy to scroll through the lines of your posts, so renewing the common information about your products and services is a good practice for your growth too.
One of the creative methods to post your information is to settle it in categorized Stories albums that are called Highlights. This way your most wanted information will always remain at the top of your profile page.
Come Up With Quick Replies For Direct Messages
However hard you will throw the information to people in your profile, you will still receive tons of similar questions and queries in your Direct. There is no way to avoid it, some people are simply more comfortable asking questions by themselves, even if they see there are a bunch of Highlights or thematic posts.
To save yourself a lot of time, you should do a few things:
- Figure out the most typical questions you get in your Direct
- Write down the open and informative answers to those questions
- Each time you get a question, simply paste in the template you wrote, only adjusting the details according to the specifics of the question.
- Revise your templates from time to time, updating the details and conditions of your service
Doing that trick saves a grand chunk of time, as you won’t be typing all the customer needs to know from scratch every time.
Recently, Instagram has introduced the aiding service of Quick replies, which shortens the process to one or two clicks, but doing a copy-paste is better for start, as you will be able to put in some changes on the go, as you are figuring what are the main points that concern your customers. FYI, you can easily increase your customers if you figure out best site to buy Instagram followers.
Use Notifications
Instagram has a function for alerting the user when his or her nickname is mentioned. Turn it on so you won’t miss a new conversation. This feature can be enabled in the settings. It is known that on average, clients expect a response from brands on social media within 30 minutes. Thus, by turning on the notifications, you will keep up to this limit.
Nowadays, customers are not too patient, and this limit is quite possible to lessen as time goes. So, the notifications will give you a bonus for a faster reaction, and better result in your sales.
Remember, that there will always remain the competitors who will certainly use the spare time you can give out.
Pay Attention To The Comment Section
Comments are one of the ways to communicate with your potential buyers. In many cases, comments will lead to the conversation in Direct messages and later, a purchase. However, avoid full automation of your answers, like it is advised for private messaging. Comments are a way to show your “human face” and improve the connection with the audience.
The researches show that users are eager to pay extra for the products, given the fine quality of service provided to them. Clients will remain clients, even on social media. Here are the ground rules for your successful communication:
- Keep the style of your replies polite and friendly.
- Always use the opportunity to demonstrate your interest in each particular client
- Avoid robotic manner of speech – sincerity and a bit of wit will work perfectly on any social platform.
- If you don’t know what to say – use smilies. This small gesture will help you to assure the user that you have paid attention to his comment.
Note: lose the unhealthy practice to hide the price and details about your product for getting a lot of common questions in comment. Whereas this may seem good for the growth online, this technique can irritate many potential clients and drive their attention to your competitors, who revealed the details at once.
Drive The Critical Support Situations To Private Messages
Of course, different situations happen while running a business. Errors and misunderstandings will occur, however hard will you try to avoid them. When you meet someone who is not happy with your service or products, try to lead the discussion off the comment section (Yes, people tend to leave angry comments under posts, even the ones that are not related to a problem).
First of all, you must contact this person in their private messages and put all the efforts into resolving a conflict. Be swift in your action and respond – speed is one of the factors that will play in your favor. Do not leave the initial comment unattended – notice in replies that you are handling the situation.
Hire Someone
As your business grows, the flow of communication in your comments and Direct may be overwhelming. At this time you should consider hiring a social media moderator. This person will be administering your profile and taking care of customer support and service on Instagram in particular. Provide this employee with updated information about your brand and the products you offer. Also, make sure the worker understands the company standards and policy in different spheres. Keep in mind, though, that social media moderator is not the same person as a content manager unless your employee has the relevant experience.
Conclusion
Nowadays social media, including Instagram, serve as a giant free marketplace. Customer support and services come along too. Being professional and open to communication with your clients, as well as demonstrating a willingness to resolve any kind of situation quickly and in the client’s favor will work well for your reputation.
