When it comes to effective social media management, it’s not just what you say—it’s when you say it. Many brands are not responding to their mentions and messages quickly enough, argues Brent Barnhart on the Sprout Social blog.

“Recent research highlights how many brands are dropping the ball when it comes to social responses,” he says. “And this spells opportunity for businesses that are able to get back to their customers ASAP.”

What’s a good response time? According to Sprout Social’s 2020 research, 40 percent of consumers expect brands to respond within the first hour of reaching out on social media, while 79 percent expect a response in the first 24 hours.

“The takeaway from this data? Simply offering support via social isn’t enough anymore: brands need to mind their speed when it comes to responding to customers,” Barnhart says. Quick responses will turn social media followers into loyal customers.

There are a few strategies to improve your response time. One way is to merge all of your social accounts into a single platform where you can manage messages and notifications, instead of wasting time navigating many different pages.

Are you seeing the same questions over and over? Use chatbots to automatically answer those questions and route users to the right support channels.

Develop Confidence on Camera

Feel comfortable on camera. Avoid Zoom fatigue.

Details: https://t.co/kWYeW3TiKy w/ tips from @LauraSicola and @greg_hawks pic.twitter.com/WnAW7stzWd

— Sidecar (@sidecarglobal) July 1, 2020

Video calls are now a daily routine for many people. Make your remote work routine easier by getting more comfortable in front of the camera. On your next call, focus on three details: camera position, proper lighting, and sound. Get a quality microphone and you’ll be able to command everyone’s attention.

“Having a clear, crisp sound versus a grainy one immediately makes what you say sound more important,” says Heather Nolan on Association Success. “Making listeners work to understand what you’re saying is mentally exhausting and will likely cause them to tune you out, contributing to what experts are calling ‘Zoom fatigue.’”

Other Links of Note

If you want your nonprofit’s webinars to be more successful, start with an email marketing campaign, suggests a recent post from Campaign Monitor.

Will sustainability efforts be forgotten during COVID-19? BizBash looks at the state of the events industry.

How can we successfully work with others to bring about change and action? Try these three pragmatic approaches, says Adrian Segar of Conferences That Work.

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