In this opinion piece, Kirsty Traill (pictured below), vice president of customer at Hootsuite, explains that brands and marketers can learn a lot more from the likes of Kylie Jenner than just posing for a selfie…

“Social media is amazing. I have such easy access to my fans and my customers.”

So says Kylie Jenner, who recently revealed she would grace the cover of the August 2018 edition of Forbes magazine as ‘the youngest ever self-made billionaire’ – quite the accomplishment for the young entrepreneur and reality TV star. Kylie is set to become a billionaire at age 22, a year younger than Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg was when he joined the ‘nine zeros’ club in 2008. While Mark Zuckerberg made his fortune from developing a social platform, Kylie Jenner has made hers from using one.

Even the most serious brand can leverage their social platform to create a better customer experience – no selfies needed.

There’s more you can learn from Kylie Jenner than how to pose for a mirror selfie. Here are three ways you can make like the Kardashian clan and use social to achieve business goals and beyond:

1. Make sure you are listening

Much like the fans of Kylie Jenner, who are constantly commenting on her posts to give feedback on profiled products or tell her what they want to see next, your customers are presenting infinitely useful opinions, thoughts and insights about your market every single day – you just need to listen.

Adelaide’s Kayla Itsines is especially good at this, using fitness questions shared by her fan (customer) base to create tailored content and even sharing user generated content to boost engagement levels. However, studies show that companies aren’t quite as good at listening and responding quickly to their audiences.

A recent survey found customers reported companies failing to listen to their needs was one of their top three customer service complaints. Show your customers that their feedback is valuable to you by listening attentively and creating content to address questions, concerns and even their ideas for your brand. Implementing a social listening strategy is a great first step to get across what they’re talking about. You might be surprised in the ROI you see!

2. Don’t be afraid to make bold moves

Social media is a major cultural contributor and often the platform of choice for celebrities to share big news. Far from being simply a customer service base, social is an influential force globally, transforming the way we interact with each other, from friends to even politicians and their constituents.

Think about Beyoncé’s decision to announce her pregnancy on Instagram or Kim Kardashian’s Snap showing Taylor Swift allowed Kanye to rap about her in his song “Famous”. Both were major pop culture moments that used the social community to spread their reach and go viral.

Companies can leverage the hype, too. The NSW Police Force is a perfect showcase for how an effective social strategy can boost following and awareness, with their series of funny posts this year that are consistently well informed by pop culture trends. In speaking to their audience via social, the NSW Police Force has humanised its brand and shown the Australian public that they know them – all while increasing its reach and brand reputation. It’s a straightforward strategy to implement: track the latest trends for your customer base and consistently create relevant content for your audience via your social channels. It really is that simple.

3. Choose the right influencer for the job

One in three people trust an influencer’s recommendation over what a brand says, according to recent research. Working with influencers is a proven way to target customers on their most trusted channels, allowing you to reach them on a deeper level.

Influencers are invaluable to business, whether you take advantage of that value or not. Case in point: the day that Kylie Jenner took $1.7 billion of value off Snapchat with a single tweet. Consumers are at the centre of everything we do as marketers, and by ignoring what they want, you could cause critical damage to your brand. That’s why it’s important to choose influencers who represent your brand authentically and share the same target audience.

Before getting involved with an influencer, make sure your product or service is relevant to the influencer’s niche and content focus, have a good understanding of what you’re offering and show a clear benefit to their audience. You should also check out their engagement rates – how many people are commenting on their posts? Are any of them are automated? Is the influencer interactive with that audience? Carefully vetting your brand representative is the best way to ensure ROI.