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5 Reasons Why Successful Brands On Social Media Are LikeGood Friends

Do you know the secret of successful brands on social media?

Instead of focussing on some kind of robotic social media strategy, they approach creating content for and sharing iton social media channels as being like a good friend rather than just as a task to tick off.

It's common sense, because 'friendly' brands are of course going to be better received by prospective clients.

However, the creation of content and sharing on social media channels is still a job to be done, so how can Chinesemanufacturers who are in the process of becoming a well-known foreign brand learn from them?

Keep reading as I share 5 ways in which brands who are successful on social media are more like friends and howthis should influence branding for Chinese manufacturers...

Friend, or Supplier?

Why can't you be both?

In today's digital age the normal business barriers of formality and distance are dying or dead.

The days of sending out impersonal bulk EDM mailshots, cold-calling, and only selling to customers are over...that'ssome real 20th Century stuff right there!

No foreign (or indeed Chinese) customers like being sold to, disturbed, or seen simply as a number on a sales-sheet.

Customers have changed. The way that brands market themselves has changed.

Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Vine, Uber, LinkedIn, Google, Pinterest, Spotify, WhatsApp. All of these apps, sites, andservices have one thing in common.

They connect people.

Find me one foreigner who uses none of the above and I'll call you a liar. In fact, social media and connectivity appsare so ingrained in the modern person's psyche that marketing has changed to reflect their insistence on using themand gaining their benefits.

This is why the distinction between a supplier and friend has been blurred recently, as potential customers areengaged by companies in exactly the same social spaces that they also engage with their own friends too!

This quotation from famous author C. S. Lewis explains friendship:

In the same way as finding friendship provides the individual with a watershed moment where they realise that theyhave found a kindred spirit, brands should also be aiming to put themselves in front of people with a shared interest.

Successful brands know how to engage with the right people at the right time and in the right social media channels.

They understand how to make people who are looking for 'soul mates' feel that they're no longer alone.

Here are 5 reasons why successful brands on social media are like good friends:

1. Successful Brands Are Always There For You

The best kind of friend will be there for you when you need them, and the same can be said for brands' marketing.

Today's brands should be creating plenty of free, useful content that can help to answer potential customers'questions or problems. But if they can't see this great content, how can they benefit from it?

Therefore 'being there' for them constitutes having a consistent social media strategy and presence across a broadrange of different social media channels thereby maximising the chance that people who share an interest in theirinformation will have access to it.

Read this blog to learn more about building a consistent social media presence.

2. They Share What They Have

Everyone will remember their parents encouraging them to share with their friends as kids. Brands need to continuedoing this, and social media is the ideal platform.

A great way to make sure that interested people know that you're active on their favourite social media channel is toinclude 'share buttons' on your site and blog.

These should look like the ones on our blog that you're reading right now:

Not only do these buttons allow interested folks to like your content, but they also provide a direct route for them toshare what they like on their social network of choice. It's also human nature to feel more interested to read contentwhich already has a bunch of likes or comments, and these buttons will display those automatically and become evenmore attractive!

According to Hubspot:

"Adding social sharing buttons [to your site] leads to 7x more mentions"> (Tweet this stat) <

Adding them is a win-win. You show that you're active where they want you to be, and they can share your contentthere directly where hopefully others will be interested in it too!

3. They Talk, But Also Listen

We all know that creating content like blogs is an important part of establishing your brand, as this content is yourway of speaking to others, however the best friends don't only speak, they also listen.

Social media channels give you a great way to put the word out about your company, products, services, etc, but theyalso allow potential customers to speak to you too!

Any responsible brand must be prepared to listen, and social media channels are a good place to offer customersupport (and free too!).

Take the world's largest social network, Facebook, for example. Each business page offers fans 3 ways to get intouch with you:

It's not only Facebook that offers this either, in fact all social channels allow users to message or contact brands insome way.

Speaking with customers or fans on social media is also very healthy for business, as if you publicly deal with acustomer's issue quickly and courteously, for example, how impressed do you think others would be?

Given that one of the biggest barriers between potential foreign customers and Chinese manufacturers doingbusiness is one of communication, you would be very positively differentiating yourself from your competition wereyou to start dialogue, in English, with interested foreign social media users.

Read this blog to learn how to give great customer support using Facebook.

4. They Give You Something And Ask Nothing In Return

You can rely on friends to give without expecting anything in return, and so it should be with brands on social media.

I mentioned earlier about reputable brands putting out helpful and informative content regularly, but why should yoube doing this?

It's all about building trust.

Today's customer looks for help from brands before deciding to place an order. Helpful brands who reach out with freecontent build trust and therefore will get the order down the line.

You could be creating:

Blogs

E-Books

Images

Infographics

Podcasts

Videos

As an example take a look at the Oxygen 2.0 Pinterest account below:

As you can see above, we share not only our own content (you can see blog posts to the left), but we also gather andshare a lot of content which is hopefully interesting for and related to the interests of our target potential customers:Namely people who are interested in improving their business by doing better marketing work.

Over time interested potential customers can see that we are making an effort to consistently offer useful freeinformation, and so will start to trust us more as an expert in our field. Because we've helped them in the past and sothey trust us, we hope that when they're ready to purchase a service, that we're at the front of their minds.

5. They Help Others Build Relationships With Like-Minded People

One of the most common ways to meet new friends is through other friends.

Whilst we may not rely on brands to make introductions for us to meet new friends on their social media channels,this relationship-building manifests itself in a different way for possible customers.

We as manufacturers can be really helpful, demonstrate how our products solve lots of common customer problems,and offer all of this advice for free; but our word will never carry as much weight as a great recommendation from apast customer.

Luckily social media channels make it easy for people to share their experiences, and so if you're doing a good jobyou can expect happy customers to spread the word. Expect it to snowball too, as your fans will share these positivereviews with their friends, who'll also share and so on.

Your Turn...

Everyone needs good friends, and by following these tips your brand can become a trusted partner for potentialcustomers.

Successful brands on social media aim to be more like friends rather than suppliers by:

Being there for them by being consistent and offering content where they are

Sharing great content and helping them spread the word

Listening to them by offering customer support

Giving and not asking: In this case free, helpful content

Offering a way for fans to see what customers have been saying before they make the decision to buy

By reaching out and helping people who are looking for your help know that they're not alone, you not only fulfill C. S.Lewis' definition of friendship, but you also gain the trust of new potential customers who will then be more open tobuying from you later because you have been helping them solve their problems for free.

Branding for Chinese manufacturers is fraught with problems.

How do you create quality content? Is your English good enough? Where should you be active online to be found by

foreign customers?

So where do you turn for help?

If you're starting out on your journey to becoming a recognised brand in the West you'll need to do a lot of thingsdifferently, but do you have the necessary time, experience, and staff to succeed with this project?

Oxygen 2.0 is a bilingual Chinese and English-speaking marketing team who have decades of experience in helpingChinese manufacturers become brands and market themselves to the West effectively.

Click below to request a FREE website, branding, and marketing assessment where we will examine yourcurrent situation and offer free advice which your business can use to improve its sales abroad: