How to Use Empathetic Marketing in Your Social Media Strategy

Four Ways to Increase Engagement and Social Media Reach

You’re likely to be among 44% of those who have been using social media more during the pandemic. Social media allows us to stay connected, whether we’re checking Twitter for the latest news or talking with our family on Facebook.

Are you a small-business owner, and do you spend more time on social media to be empathetic?

Sometimes empathy is confused with sympathy. This is when you feel compassion for another person. Heart means putting yourself in the shoes of another person.

You can serve your customers better by empathizing with them.

Merriam Webster defines empathy as “the ability to understand, be aware of, and be sensitive to the feelings, thoughts, and experiences of another.”

You should be compassionate in all marketing materials, including your website copy and social media strategies.

Social media is a beautiful way to connect with large audiences. You should be prepared to invest the effort to make sure your communications are engaging and empathetic.

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READ Empathy-Based Marketing and its Importance on our site.

Moving forward from COVID-19, empathy-based marketing is not just the right thing to be doing, but what your customers expect.

Numerous studies conducted during the pandemic show that people want brands to be more compassionate and aware of the long-term effects they will have on them.

You communicated with customers authentically and empathically during this time. These are three ways you can use empathy content marketing.

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Braze Brand Humanity Index research found that around 65% of people are more loyal to brands with which they feel a personal connection.

Here are four ways small businesses can create a social media presence that is more empathic and helps customers stay connected.

1. Create an empathy map.

This is a great way to get into your customer’s head. Empathy mapping has initially been a tool for agile development and design. It allows you to gain a deeper understanding of your customers. It is usually divided into four quadrants: says (thinks), does (does and feels).

You can start to brainstorm questions with your target customer in the middle.

Why do you need my product?
What does my product do for you?
What are your top stressors/fears?
What can my product do to help you achieve your goals?
Write down the thoughts of your customer in the way that you imagine he or she would. You will be able to build a social media presence by using messaging that resonates well with your followers.

2. Listen to your customers.

I am not talking about trying to play on their fears in order to sell your products. But instead, I am talking about how they feel about your product.

Here’s how a brand eased the fears of its youngest customers. Philips created a miniature version of a CAT scanner called “KittenScanner,” which doctors can use to teach children about the process and make them feel at ease. It’s fun for children to try it with their toys, taking the focus away from the procedure and allowing them to have some fun.

Although it was established in 2004, the product is still being mentioned in videos and health journals. How can you position your brand to reduce stress for your customers?

3. Social listening can be used to your advantage

Social listening involves monitoring your communication channels for brand mentions and competitors, as well as specific keywords and comments.

You can learn valuable information about your followers by listening to them. A tweet from a satisfied customer about your product might be displayed on Twitter. You might also see comments from customers who weren’t happy with the response time of customer service.

Social listening allows you to not only gain information about how your small business is doing but also gives you the chance to improve customer service or tweak a product or process that isn’t working.

4. Encourage customers to take action

It’s a great way to increase your social media reach and engagement by showing your customers that you trust them. Consider the service or product you offer your customers. What can you do to get your customers to use it to enhance their lives and/or entertain?

Home Depot, for example, encouraged customers to make a living salad bowl by sharing an infographic on social media. This infographic has minimal branding, but it reinforces Home Depot’s marketing strategy about the possibilities that their products offer.

Your branding is essential, no matter how empathy-based marketing is used to increase social media reach. Humour could be a great way to engage your audience if your brand voice is “funny, upbeat, and confident.”

A more personal, emotional message can be the best way to communicate with your customers if it is “down-to-earth, approachable, and considerate.”

To save time and money, create a social media marketing strategy!

Susan Friesen is the founder of eVision Media, web development and digital marketing company that has won numerous awards. She is a Social Media Advisor, Web Specialist, Business & Market Consultant, and Web Specialist. She assists entrepreneurs who lack the knowledge, skills, and support to build their online businesses.

Clients feel secure and relieved that their online marketing is in the hands of trustworthy and caring people so they can concentrate on building their businesses with confidence, knowing that there is a great support system to help them every step of their way.