Community Management is the difference between having followers and having an engaged, nurtured, online community. It’s a simple way to make followers feel seen, heard and valued. By actively engaging with your online audience, potential customers can quickly become loyal brand advocates. Plus, it’s a way to book up empty tables or vacant rooms, because active community management means that no direct messages or booking enquiries are missed.
While community management seems so obvious, it often gets forgotten about. Social media is often people’s first impression of your brand, and how you carry out community management can have a massive bearing on your reputation. Below is our daily community management checklist you can use to stay on top of your accounts:
Comments Under Posts
This is probably the least picked up on, but most valuable place to engage in effective community management. Comments under your posts can be seen by everyone, so it’s key to show that you are on top of the ball here for your reputation’s sake. All it takes is a simple ‘like’ and reply to a comment in your brand’s tone of voice. Followers will often ask questions or even leave negative feedback in the comments. The best practice for this is to reply in the comments saying you’ve sent them a direct message, and handle the rest in private. Unanswered or unliked comments is not a good look.
Direct Messages
You want to be checking your direct messages for customer bookings and general queries, as well as content you might have been tagged in. It’s a little arduous and can take a bit of time, but going the extra mile to give that personal service and reply to your community goes a long way. On Instagram, there is the ‘Saved Replies’ function which can help you save time with common customer queries such as how to book, opening times, allergies and more. Turning enquiries into bookings means you’re transforming potential guests into actual paying customers. Oh, and don’t forget to scan your ‘requests’ inbox for any messages that might not automatically appear in your inbox!
Tagged Content
Your customers will without a doubt be tagging you in their content, looking to associate themselves with your brand. Show your appreciation by engaging with their content when relevant to do so, even if it’s just so much as an emoji as a comment. It’s free publicity for you, so it deserves some recognition!
Locations
Many of your customers will tag the geo-location of your business rather than your account, and may not use any hashtags related to your brand. This makes it less visible for you to find these posts, and so it’s important to go searching for them. Make a habit of searching the geo-locations related to your business, and interact with your customers’ content there. Remember to click into the ‘most recent’ section so you see the most up-to-date posts.
Hashtags
Search for hashtags that are related to your business and engage with the content appropriate to your brand. This could spark that person to tag your account in their content in the future or even nudge them to give your account a follow.
AXJ is a London-based digital marketing agency dedicated to bringing hospitality brands to life on social. If you're looking for a social media strategy that puts your customers at the heart of everything, let’s start the conversation.
