Social media is a proven tool to help build brand awareness. But it is also possible to utilize social networks in numerous ways, including the opportunity to drive customer loyalty. If you are searching for ways to build more meaningful connections with your customers, social media could (and should) play a key role in maintaining the customer relationship, and even more in maximizing their lifetime value.
Here are five ways to improve your customer loyalty through social media.
1.Social listening
Today, customers interact with brands and share their experiences with others via social media. This is a great opportunity for businesses to start tracking via social networks these valuable data and explore what their customers are searching for, what they are talking about or what they think about your products or services. What is more, social listening helps marketers from all industries find and understand what type of content their customers share, so they can add it later to their strategy.
Gift tip: A great way to examine the questions that consumers ask about your brand is by researching on local hashtags.
2.Build a plan
Loyal customers do not simply happen. It takes time and of course, it takes a plan. It is essential to arrange your social media accounts so that they are consistent, and they highlight your brand’s image. The next step is to build a content marketing plan and make sure you share updates of quality content that customers would want to engage with. Where most organizations fail to succeed is that they believe that by simply monitoring the social media accounts is enough for a successful online presence. If you want to get closer to your customers, you must show them that you care and you value their feedback.
3.Respond in real time
Social media allows your company to engage in real time with your customers and this is something you should take advantage of. When people reach out to you via social media, you should be there to respond to their messages. Try to address their concerns, reply quickly and in a professional manner, as today’s socially savvy customers expect personal responses and exceptional customer service. In order to build trust with your customers, you should interact, engage and support them even if they praise you or they are searching for solutions to fix their problem. In both cases, show them that you appreciate their time.
4.Create personalized rewards
If you want customers to constantly come back to you, then you should give them incentives and personalized rewards. Building loyalty is an ongoing process as customers expect different treatment for being loyal and staying connected with you. Many businesses have already invested in a loyalty program, converting their existing customers into loyal. Customized communications and personalized promotions is the key to create a successful customer loyalty program through all channels and especially via social media.
Gift tip: When delivering customer experiences on your social media accounts, try thinking like a customer and remember that he or she is probably connecting from a mobile device.
5.Track and measure
As in every successful strategy, what you need to boost your customer loyalty with social media is to track and measure your marketing efforts. Test different content types or messages and monitor your social media pages in order to identify what works best for your business.
If you want to learn more about building a successful loyalty strategy with social media and retaining your loyal customers, contact us or visit our website.
