Social networks have totally revolutionized the relationship between businesses and consumers. Marketers no longer have to rely on the old method of interrupting people's lives to shout messages at them. Thanks to social media, a new level of interactive conversation has been facilitated between brands and consumers, and the best news for businesses is that people actually WANT to talk to you!

But are you willing to listen? The most successful social marketing strategies hinge not only on drawing users to your page with engaging content, but also on engaging with those users on a consistent basis to maintain the relationship. Social networks provide businesses a crucial direct line to consumers' thoughts, feedback and opinions. Follow these tips to learn how to leverage that dialogue and grow your business.

Conversation is a two-way street.

If you want to earn consumers' trust, you have to let them know their voices have been heard, and the best way to do that is by borrowing a tactic therapists often employ in sessions with patients: active listening. An active listener will re-state or paraphrase what they have heard in order to confirm important details, and will use empathetic language to demonstrate a clear understanding of the issues to the other party. This strategy can be applied effectively across the spectrum of social networks, regardless of whether you're responding to a Yelp review, Facebook comment, or answering a tweet. Let the consumer know you've heard them by briefly re-stating their description of the issue, respond empathetically to let them know you understand why they found the experience frustrating, and draw out the consumer's own sense of empathy by making it clear that their experience was not consistent with your service standards and that you're willing to go the extra mile to address their concerns.

The art of active listening.

Consistency is key when blogging. Nothing drives away followers more than a blogger who only posts when they feel like it. Set a schedule and carefully plan the timing of your posts. Are your followers more likely to be morning people? If so, schedule posts early, so readers can check out your latest musings over their morning cup of coffee. Posting more often is always a possibility, but starting out at once or twice a week without fail will help build a strong base of followers.

Cooler heads always prevail.

A lot of chances for conversation on social media are missed because businesses don't understand how to properly deal with negative feedback. The truth is that on social networks, negative comments or feedback can actually provide businesses with a valuable opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to service in a very public forum. For this reason, don't panic and attempt to bury negative comments before anyone else sees them. First ask yourself: "Is there an opportunity for me to engage here?" Visible, public responses go a long way towards building trust and respect for a business in consumers' minds. If the issue being raised is one you feel would be best addressed privately, you can politely request that the conversation be continued offline. Even this type of visible response will be appreciated by other consumers. If you find yourself dealing with a particularly rude or disrespectful customer, remember to keep your cool no matter what's being said on the other end of the conversation. Consumers have the luxury of being cruel, obscene, and unreasonable; you do not. A truly irrational person might not be moved by your polite, measured responses, but a lot of other people watching the interaction will be.

Know when to listen, know when to leave.

This doesn't mean you have to spend hours trying to go back and forth with nutcases or let every bit of negative feedback remain on your pages. Sometimes a troll is just a troll, and because the Internet is the Internet, you'll see random bits of obscenity and nonsense pop up on your pages from time to time. You can, and should clean this junk off your pages whenever it shows up. Do not engage. Alternately, there will be occasions when friendly conversations suddenly veer off into nasty, unruly debates between your followers. Stay out of it no matter what. Unless your business is politics, you don't need politics creeping into your business and distracting from your own message.

Personality is important; have one!

The only thing worse than talking to a robot, is talking to someone who sounds like one. Develop a voice and persona for your brand to utilize on social networks and keep it at the forefront of any interactions with consumers. Be thoughtful, be creative, be funny (when appropriate), ask questions and listen carefully to responses. When you're talking with people, talk like a person. That sounds blindingly obvious but it's amazing how many brands neglect to do so on their social media pages. Do it on yours and you'll be amazed where the conversation takes you.