For many companies, social media is a key component in the omnichannel user experience. Customers often use social media either as a main channel for an interaction or as an entry point to other channels. For example, users might browse social media for new recipes and, if they find a post they like, they could visit the company’s website to get the full recipe. Users tend to rely on social media as their channel of choice if they find it to be more efficient or easier to use than the alternatives.
As part of our social-media research, we identified 6 types of interactions that users have with companies on social media. Our findings are based on data from 23 participants: a diary study with 14 participants and a usability study followed by cognitive mapping with 9 participants. We identified the following core interactions, which are listed in an approximate order, even though they don’t always happen in this sequence:
- Discover: Can I find something interesting?
- Research: What is this? How does it work for me? How could I use it?
- Engage: Am I interested in the content the company posts on social media?
- Purchase: How can I buy it?
- Support: Can you help me solve a problem?
- Promote: How can I share my experience with others?
In this article, we will look at the 6 types of interactions across industries and social-media platforms and provide insight on how UX professionals can understand and optimize these interactions.
1. Discover
At a high level, users may discover your company or institution on social media via an advertisement, a post, or search. Even when engaging with social media as a distraction or to waste time, users still have ongoing secondary goals and interests — such as finding a new lamp for their living room or keeping up to date on current news — in the back of their mind. Thus, while scrolling through their feed, they may passively discover a company or product through a suggested post or advertisement and engage with it. In addition, some users actively seek out new content on social media (through Instagram’s Explore feature or similar functions on other platforms).
Let’s consider an example of passive discovery. During our diary study, one participant shared an advertisement he saw for a cold medicine, which prompted him to purchase it. He wrote:
“I was sick recently and I bought this product because I saw an ad for it on Twitter. I didn’t know they had made a new version of it. It knocked me out and let me get some much-needed rest. NyQuil is a product I use frequently when sick, so this is very relevant to me.”
Alternatively, social-media users might actively search for content relevant to a goal. In this sense, users will search for keywords or hashtags and in turn discover new products, services, or organizations. For instance, during a usability test, one participant was planning a trip to Austin, Texas and wanted to find interesting things to do. She first searched Instagram for a verified account with relevant information, but, after an unsuccessful attempt, she browsed the hashtag #visitaustin. As she searched for particular restaurants and activities, she said:
“If there is a particular restaurant I am interested in and definitely want to go to, I would follow them. And then their posts will end up in my feeds. I’ll get all of these updates on the food they have coming in, and I’ll have more time to think about how to plan to visit these places.”
Determine how users might discover your company and products. What are the common questions or topics that relate to your company? While advertisements will certainly be one method of discovery, see if you can fill a search gap. Aim to create content that answers frequent questions or directs people to helpful information. Consider what searches could lead people to your posts or page and use relevant and timely hashtags to increase discoverability.
2. Research
Throughout our studies, users looked to social media to research products and organizations as well as to get inspiration on how to use or style various items. In this research phase, users want easy-to-consume information with clear access to more comprehensive information.
To support these research interactions, it’s important to know what type of content users want or need from you. For example, one participant new to TikTok shared her expectations for Sephora’s account on the platform: “I think they will have some makeup tutorials … For Sephora, it’s practical to see how to use their products.”
After reviewing several posts, she was disappointed to not find any tutorials on the account page and said, “This seems weird … There’s a bunch of weird experimental stuff going on, on TikTok.”
Many of the users in our studies followed fashion brands and appreciated posts showing models wearing the brands’ items, as it gave them inspiration for how to style different pieces. One participant in our diary study shared her thoughts on a post from fashion brand Public Desire: “Not only did they show someone wearing the product, they also have another picture (if you slide) of just the product itself. This makes me want to buy it more because it also shows me how I can possibly style the product.”
Help users in their research endeavors by providing them with relevant information. Social media often limits the amount of content that can be shared in a post, so be sure to provide links to more comprehensive information. For example, media companies often post headlines or top takeaways, and link to entire articles or reports.
3. Engage
Our study participants engaged with companies on social media in a variety of ways, including participating in polls and giveaways, commenting, liking, or sharing a post.
Product giveaways were highly regarded by participants in our research, with several entering giveaways throughout the study. People like the thrill of possibly winning free stuff (as long as the entry point isn’t too high). One participant in our diary study entered a giveaway from the computer-hardware company Corsair. The company was offering winners a set of game codes and gaming hardware. To enter the giveaway, users had to retweet the post, follow the account, and reply to the post. After entering the giveaway, he commented:
“They [Corsair] do a lot of giveaways. I always enter them, but I haven’t won […] Your chances of winning probably aren’t great, but they make it easy enough to enter.”
Engagement might also come in the form of webpage views. For instance, one participant visited the Facebook page of TED, a media organization. While browsing the page, he found a post with a video that he was interested in, so he clicked the post which took him to the TED website. While on the site, he watched several minutes of the video. For a media company, pushing users to your site is likely a valuable conversion, so this post was successful in doing so.
Experiment with different ways of presenting content and explore new social-media platform features (they’re always expanding!) Aim to always include a call-to-action and consider the ‘so-what’ of your content.
4. Purchase
For ecommerce companies with a social-media presence, there are two methods for users to make a purchase: social selling or social commerce. Social selling focuses on using social-media posts to direct users to your website or other channels for purchasing. Comparatively, social commerce happens directly on social platforms, like Instagram.
Social selling is often the first method brands new to social media pursue, as it is the most similar to traditional advertisements and marketing. For example, one of our diary study participants learned about a sale at Bath and Body Works (an account she followed) via an Instagram post. Upon discovering the post, she wrote:
“This ad made me feel EXCITED!!!😲 I love this company and their quality products. Even better, a stocking-stuffer sale for $1.95 each!!!! That's so perfectly priced for me and will allow me to buy multiple items. I plan to stop by their store in person or order online.”
This discovery prompted her to visit a nearby store and purchase the sale item on the following day. She also noted her previous engagements with the Bath and Body Works Instagram account, stating, “I usually like everything they post; usually its upcoming sales or something comes back that may have been gone for a while.”
Social commerce, on the other hand, assists and allows users to make a purchase via social- media platforms. For instance, during our usability study a participant came across an Instagram post from Target, which featured several product tags. She was interested in one of the items, so she clicked the corresponding product tag, which took her to an Instagram Shopping page with a prominent View on Website button. Clicking this button brought her to the specific product on the Target site, loaded through the in-app browser.
Instagram has since expanded its shopping experience to allow for end-to-end purchasing. That is, not just directing users to the ecommerce site to make a purchase, but allowing them to make a purchase within the Instagram app. This feature allows brands to sell products within Instagram, (without the need to open a browser within the app), resulting in a seamless experience.
As users scroll through their social feeds, it’s likely they will come across some products they are interested in. Help them in this journey by providing adequate product details and links to learn more, see reviews, compare similar products, and so on. Social commerce is growing, but not all users are comfortable with the process yet. Don’t limit yourself to social-only purchases on social media; also make it easy for users to get to your site and see all of the information you have to offer.
5. Support
Multiple participants in our studies shared experiences where they used social media to reach out directly to a company for support. The main reason cited for using social media for customer support is that they thought it would be faster to get a response compared to other methods of contacting the company.
While some simply sent a private message to the company on social media as a direct alternative to sending an email, others — particularly those frustrated or upset — posted publicly as a means of “publicly shaming” the company into responding quickly or gaining a positive outcome.
A participant shared a support experience he had with Regal Cinemas. After a negative in-store experience, he reached out to the company through both Twitter and Facebook private messages. On the dual communication, he said “I didn’t know which one would be quicker […] so I sent them messages on both.” After an unsatisfactory private support experience, mainly on Twitter, he posted publicly to his Facebook feed to share his negative experience with all of his friends and family.
In addition to receiving support for themselves, users may research your company on social media to see how it handled previous public support requests.
Customer support can be a make-or-break interaction for potential or existing users. If you provide a good experience, you could gain a customer or advocate. If the experience is poor, you could lose a customer or gain an adversary. Evaluate your social-media customer-support delivery and ensure you meet expectations.
6. Promote
Even if your users love the company or product, it’s not a guarantee that they will post about (or even follow) your brand on social media. Promotion is like engagement, but at a deeper, reflective level. Sharing is not only about liking a brand, but also telling your social-media circle that you like it and being willing to accept the way that share will reflect upon you.
The study participants who demonstrated promotion did so by tagging their own posts with brands they wore, sending posts with sales to friends, or reposting content to their own page. Participants also shared instances where they became customers and followers of brands on social media because a friend or family member recommended it.
Though we witnessed promotion relatively rarely during our research, it’s fair to say promotion is the goal of most companies on social media. This interaction type is a culmination of experiences in both the physical and digital world. To support users in this stage, recognize and share gratitude for their promotion by liking, replying, or further sharing their posts. No matter the response, acknowledging positive sentiment can make your followers feel valued and provide more positive publicity.
Conclusion
Social media is no longer a single channel where customers might see or like a post from your company. In fact, social media is used by customers throughout their end-to-end experience, from product discovery to customer support. Understanding how your company fits into to your users’ social media experience is key to creating a great omnichannel experience.
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