Bilateral communication is one of the great advantages of the digital medium. No matter what type of channel we choose, there will always be some way for audience members to connect with your brand.
Within digital marketing and more specifically within social media, bilateral communication is what represents the success of any business, because it allows you to know firsthand what your buyer persona wants.
In today’s post, we will explain what bilateral or bidirectional communication is, how it has affected the interaction of businesses with their customers, and what are the main advantages it offers your business.
Bilateral communication, when the client has something to say.
We are facing a bilateral communication, when in a conversation, the sender sends a message that is captured by a receiver and this sends a response accordingly.
Basically, what is understood by bilateral or bidirectional, is the ability of the public to interact with the messages sent by the brands.
Something that before the Internet was quite difficult to do, unless you will call the customer service phone number.
Social networks. The field of two-way communication.
The place on the Internet where most of the two-way communication occurs is in the social media.
Social networks are where real-time feedback is received from followers and conversations are held that help the brand understand the needs of its audience.
How does two-way communication help digital businesses?
Having a profile on any social network implies a commitment to the members of the community. For this reason, the figure of the community manager is very important, who is in charge of interacting with the audience.
You must keep in mind that each social post that you upload to a profile, you must look for three things: The main thing, interactions. The second, the mention of your brand (that is, generate conversations). And finally, increase engagement with your community.
What can you do to improve that feedback with the audience?
Next, we will explain some small tricks that you can carry out to improve that interaction with your buyer persona, with the aim of starting to create pieces of content that generate conversions.
- Respond quickly to any type of interaction from users.
- Always keep in mind the values of the brand.
- Do not lose sight of the context of the message.
- Use close and human language.
- Welcome the new followers.
- Conduct surveys to motivate customer interaction.
- Make use of humor within posts.
- Talk about current issues that are related to your business or sector.
- Measure all the results, because thanks to bilateral communication, web analytics has gained importance in the digital sphere.
Main advantages of bidirectional communication.
Achieving two-way communication with your audience can bring you multiple advantages, especially in terms of positioning, credibility and authority.
Here are the main benefits of having an ongoing conversation with your followers:
1. Promotes greater trust and transparency:
Constant communication between customers and brands has generated closeness, loyalty and empathy between consumers and the companies that develop the products.
It is through this constant feedback that your business can demonstrate its human side, the values that represent the brand, and gain the trust of users.
2. Improve understanding of the buyer persona:
By having direct and transparent communication with users, you will learn what their interests, motivations and what content they consider valuable.
It is in bilateral communication where you will be able to obtain the greatest amount of qualitative data to evaluate the performance of your marketing strategy.
3. It allows the consumer to feel valued:
Thanks to big data and web analytics programs, as well as tracking cookies and other technologies that serve to measure; Internet users feel more like numbers than people.
However, two-way communication is one of the best tools to let your clients know that you distinguish them as human beings and not just another statistic in your management reports.
To achieve this degree of empathy, it is essential to ask questions, design surveys and value each opinion that is left on any platform related to your brand.
4. It is the best way to join the conversation:
Not because you represent a brand, you are exempt from giving firm opinions regarding a topic or theme. Only that the values that your brand will defend are those that are related to it.
The idea within social media is that everyone can participate in the debates that friends, acquaintances and family open. In short, be part of the community.
A brand can take a position on an issue that really adheres to its values, give its opinion and defend it from the most human point of view possible. This type of intervention, well done, generates engagement and loyalty.
5. Help in the early detection of reputation crises:
Finally, two-way communication is the best way to detect any possible digital crisis surrounding your brand.
Almost always the tone of the comments, the words used or the customer’s complaints will let you know if the time has come to tackle a problem, solve it and not allow it to grow.
So, the reputation of your business will not be tarnished, or at least not completely, if you accept criticism with good spirits and a lot of professionalism.
Summary of the post and frequently asked questions about two-way communication:
What is two-way communication?
It is the type of communication where the sender and the receiver exchange their roles with some frequency, to talk about aspects of common interest and strengthen their relationship or generate a change.
What are the main advantages of two-way communication?
Among the advantages of bilateral communication, we have the following:
- It generates greater trust from customers.
- Improves the authority and positioning of the brand.
- It shows the human side of business.
- It allows you to get to know your customers better.
- Helps prevent or stop reputation crises.
- It lets the audience know that you care about their opinions and advice for improvement.
Conclusion
As you can see, bilateral communication is one of the best tools that the digital world can offer you, because it allows you to know first-hand the opinion of your customers.
The most important thing that you must take into consideration is that the management of social networks ends up being a diplomatic art, more than a simple information channel.
For this reason, it is essential that you hire a professional for the management of your social networks and the creation of impressive content.
