It’s alright if a brand’s marketing content on social media raises questions. What you should be worried about is if it doesn’t. The content that a brand puts out on social media should pose questions to its followers.
Recently, Facebook released a report on the types of content that are most widely viewed. Apart from citing data of different formats of web pages, what was most interesting was that the most read content had to do with questions being posed to followers. This conclusion is worthwhile for marketers to consider. Besides producing content that informs readers of your product details, the seemingly simple and not-too-resource-intensive technique of asking questions could be incorporated into the brand’s content.
Is It Bad If No One Responds?
It is hard to extract a “Like” from Hong Kong people. It is something that marketers will all agree on. While it doesn’t seem too bad in other countries, getting Hong Kong people to like content that they’ve just read is as hard as asking customers to open their wallets to make a purchase. What if it has to do with answering questions? Is it too much to expect followers to respond? It is not a simple expectation but a lofty one. While it is certainly challenging to elicit responses from followers through the content posted by the brand, it does not mean that you should give up posing questions in your content.
It may not be easy for listeners of radio programs to actively submit their responses. But whether from the podium or over the radio, “asking questions” is very important. Doing so can encourage your audience and readers to be more attentive. Asking good questions motivates your audience and readers to think about what is being asked and the corresponding answers. Of course, it is best if listeners and readers are willing to respond, especially on social media, where everyone hopes to create and sustain a robust level of engagement. So, even if you don’t receive responses, posing questions triggers your audience to think. As such, good questions can help to strengthen the followers’ ability and understanding of brands, products, and services.
Ask Smart Questions
At work, as well as in real life, it is very important to ask smart questions. If you ask simple questions which can be easily answered on Google, you reveal your ignorance and lack of effort to put in. If a wrong question is asked in social media content, the brand may become a laughing stock or face a crisis. The best question to ask is an open-ended one, which is related to products, services, or brand value. It should not be too direct or plain hard selling. The question should offer some guidance, but everyone must do their best to consider all the possible responses. Sometimes content creators also have blind spots. After designing a question, they may ask their friends to throw up all possible responses. It avoids posting silly questions, where the responses may cause readers to notice the brand’s weaknesses or to turn their attention to competitors instead. Think carefully about the answers to your questions. Agencies may also adopt this in some small-scale social media activities. Such activities are often tied to a giveaway so that followers are willing to participate. If the answers to the question are not well thought out, it becomes a problem.
There Is an Impact Even If There Are No Responses
Producing social media content and asking questions without earning “Likes” or responses often frustrate marketers and editors. But this is why everyone should adopt the omnichannel approach of deploying social media content. For instance, a brand’s target audience may not act immediately to purchase the brand’s products after browsing content on social media. But they may do so after seeing a brand’s marketing pitch the next time, whether through emails, advertisement banners, or other offline media marketing channels.
There is a traditional marketing concept called the “Rule of 7”, which is to say that customers will only make a purchase decision after seeing the brand 7 times. Of course, 7 is just a theoretical number. In the era of booming digital media, the amount of exposure that a brand has and the effort it needs to invest in marketing need to be even greater to help customers remember it. So, don’t underestimate the power of asking a good question. This is a handy way to encourage followers to think about and remember your brand.
Original Source: https://www.visiongo.hsbc.com.hk/en/article/does-your-marketing-content-raise-questions