For the modern, connected customer, most sales journeys begin with social media marketing, meaning that in order to convert a sale, brands need to connect on a level that will engage and resonate with their customers.

Doing this successfully requires data, but the collection and use of customer data is getting more difficult due to customer privacy concerns and new regulations. In this interview with CX Network Chris Robinson, paid social director for The Goat Agency, explains how to build the trust necessary to obtain customer data and how to put it to work for an effective marketing campaign on social media.

CX Network: In CX, customer data is being used more and more for personalization and to inform business operations. But how is it being used for social media marketing?

Chris Robinson: In a number of ways – with regard to organic social efforts, knowing who your customers are, what they like and what products are popular for example, can help you craft content calendars or reactive content to jump on trends.

In the paid social space, it’s even more powerful. With the ability to load data into a paid social ads manager, you can use customer data to create custom audiences and create ‘lookalike’ audiences – those similar to your source audience. This provides not only the ability to exclude current customers from some activity, but to scale your activity by targeting people with a similar social profile to your current customer base.

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CX Network: What types of data are required for a successful social marketing campaign and where in the organization can the data be found?

Chris Robinson: I think you can gather that data in a couple of key ways. Not only through the collation of email addresses from customers when they agree to share that information, but also through post-purchase surveys. Those are really popular these days as a way of finding out how people heard of a brand, what they thought of the website or what they thought of the product information, for example. That can then be used to tweak and craft content calendars or ad creative to solve challenges and build on what is working.

CX Network: What are the top challenges when it comes to locating and utilizing data for this purpose?

Chris Robinson: We live in a very data private world now, so assuming someone is going to give over data is a little ‘old hat’. Data is volunteered by customers where the value exchange is strong, so getting information from people in a GDPR compliant way that lines up with that value exchange is the major challenge.

Then, how you use and how you store that data is another challenge, and it’s upon everyone in an organization to make sure they are being respectful and legally compliant with user data, it’s not just down to one person.

CX Network: Customer trust is difficult to win, but easy to lose – particularly when it comes to the use of customer data. How can organizations execute a successful, data-led social campaign that builds rather than erodes customer trust?

Chris Robinson: Don’t over personalize! I think a lot of people accept and acknowledge their data is used, especially in the serving of ads. And people would always rather see a relevant ad than a completely irrelevant one. But where it can get a bit tougher is where it’s so personalized it feels like people are watching and listening to your every move.

It’s a balance between serving the right, relevant ad to the right person at the right time, and it feeling like big brother is watching.

CX Network: There are many changes happening around data collection and processing in various global markets. How do you believe this will influence the use of data for CX and marketing?

Chris Robinson: Legal protections like GDPR are still there and will only likely get stronger, I don’t see this as a bad thing. It’s only a good thing to put the ownership and usage of data back into the hands of those who own it, because it means as marketers, we have to develop that value exchange to be able to get access to it, and then use it in the ways it’s been granted. Being respectful with people's data is a good thing for a brand to do, and can only further their commitment to current and potential customers.

CX Network: How can brands get ahead of the curve when it comes to reaching their customers on social?

Chris Robinson: While it might sound overly basic, brands need to speak to people like people. People accept seeing adverts everywhere they go, but to really connect with people and sell to them, you need to speak to them on a human level. This means messaging is absolutely vital. Don’t condescend, don’t belittle, or treat them like idiots. Be clear, concise and show your value add. Apple did it best with the launch of the original iPod, talking about ‘1,000 songs in your pocket’ instead of ‘10GB hard drive’. Show the value add with your content messaging.