As an account manager, you need to understand your global clients better, especially if you work remotely or across different time zones. Social media can be a powerful tool to help you learn about their culture, preferences, challenges, and opportunities. Here are some tips on how to use social media to enhance your account management skills.
One of the easiest ways to use social media to understand your global clients better is to follow their official accounts on platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. You can see what they post, share, like, and comment on, and get a sense of their tone, values, and goals. You can also learn about their products, services, events, achievements, and news. Following your clients can help you stay updated, informed, and relevant.
Social media can be a powerful tool for understanding your global clients better, gaining insights into their preferences, behaviors, and needs. Here are some strategies to effectively use social media for this purpose: Listen Actively: Monitor social media platforms for mentions of your brand, products, or industry-related keywords. Follow Your Clients: Identify and follow your clients on social media platforms to gain direct insights into their activities and interests. Create Client Personas Multilingual Engagement Conduct Surveys and Polls Track Trends and Industry Insights Monitor Competitors: which is key to success. Cross-Cultural Marketing:you can use social media as a dynamic tool to gain valuable insights.
To better understand global clients, use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and industry-specific forums. Develop client personas based on demographic and psychographic information, follow and connect with clients, monitor their activities, join relevant groups and communities, use advanced search features, create and curate industry content, set up listening tools, engage in direct communication, run surveys and polls, attend virtual events and webinars, share behind-the-scenes content, monitor competitor activities, use analytics to measure engagement, stay informed about global trends, build relationships with key decision-makers, create localized content for different regions, use direct feedback channels, etc
Respect Boundaries: while following your clients, it’s crucial to maintain a balance. Don't intrude on their personal space, especially on platforms like Facebook or Instagram, which might be more personal. Avoid controversial or polarizing comments. Remember, your engagement is visible to their other followers as well.
Finding the right balance between following up on social media platforms vs stalking is key. The best way is to use the business-related platforms for the interaction (LinkedIn and Twitter) Rather than Instagrma/Facebook etc, unless requested :)
Another way to use social media to understand your global clients better is to engage with them in a respectful and professional manner. You can like, comment, share, or retweet their posts, and show your appreciation, support, or interest. You can also ask questions, offer feedback, or provide insights, and start a conversation. Engaging with your clients can help you build rapport, trust, and credibility.
- Provide Value: Ensure that every engagement is meaningful and adds value to the client’s experience. - Be Authentic: Genuine interactions are more effective than purely promotional comments. - Understand and Respect the Platform: Tailor the engagement style to the norms and etiquette of each social media platform. - Stay Informed and Relevant: Keep up with the client’s latest updates and industry trends to ensure that the engagement is timely and pertinent.
Having strong personal brand on social media platforms gives credibility. I love interacting with the customers and prospect's posts. It puts the face behind the emails and other interactions in our day-to-day.
A third way to use social media to understand your global clients better is to research them beyond their official accounts. You can look for their employees, partners, competitors, or industry influencers, and follow them as well. You can also search for hashtags, keywords, or topics related to their business, and see what people are saying about them. You can also join groups, forums, or communities where they are active, and participate in discussions. Researching your clients can help you gain insights, perspectives, and opportunities.
LinkedIn Sales navigator is an amazing tool that allows us to find the prospects, engage with them but what's even m ore important - to prepare for the initial interaction. The insights into their company in terms of head counts, new positions etc helps personalizing the interactions.
A fourth way to use social media to understand your global clients better is to monitor them for any changes, issues, or trends that may affect them. You can use tools like Google Alerts, Hootsuite, or Mention to track their mentions, reviews, ratings, or feedback. You can also use tools like BuzzSumo, Socialbakers, or Sprout Social to analyze their performance, engagement, or sentiment. Monitoring your clients can help you anticipate their needs, challenges, or expectations.
A fifth way to use social media to understand your global clients better is to adapt to their preferences, styles, and norms. You can use tools like Grammarly, Hemingway, or Readable to check your spelling, grammar, or readability. You can also use tools like Hofstede Insights, Culture Wizard, or Cultural Intelligence Center to learn about their cultural dimensions, values, or behaviors. Adapting to your clients can help you communicate, collaborate, and negotiate more effectively.
A sixth way to use social media to understand your global clients better is to learn from them and their feedback. You can use tools like SurveyMonkey, Typeform, or Qualtrics to create and send surveys, polls, or quizzes to your clients, and ask them about their satisfaction, needs, or suggestions. You can also use tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, or LinkedIn Analytics to measure and improve your social media performance, reach, or impact. Learning from your clients can help you grow, improve, and innovate.
You can use social media to engage with you customers all around the world, and you can track their journey to know more about them which allows you the possibility to offer the best services for their needs.