Did you know that your chance of selling to your existing customers is around 60-70% higher than to new customers? Consequently, it is more expensive to get new customers compared to retaining your current ones. This data highlights the importance of nurturing your relationship with your loyal customers.
Professors Werner Reinartz and V.Kumar shared the same sentiments in the Harvard Business Review. According to them, “The best clients are loyal clients. It takes less money to serve them, and they’re more likely to spend more money than other clients and usually work as “word-of-mouth” publicists.”
In today’s digital age, there’s one method that allows you to nurture brand loyalty at a more personal level, and that is social media. There are currently 4.8 billion social media users worldwide—a massive opportunity to build customer loyalty.
Social media plays a vital part in building brand loyalty. Here’s a quick rundown of the many benefits it can offer for your brand:
- It is an accessible way to communicate with your customers.
- It helps raise brand awareness.
- It is a 24/7 venue to showcase your brand.
- It allows you to interact with customers after the sale.
So, how do you build brand loyalty via social media platforms? The key is to elicit a high level of long-term engagement. Having thousands of followers is great, but it is more critical to retain happy customers.
We’ve rounded up ways to build brand and customer loyalty on social media to help you generate impactful conversions, leads, and sales.
1. Respond to comments and messages quickly
Providing helpful responses to your followers’ queries and comments via social media is a way of delivering exceptional customer support. It means that you care about your customer’s needs and their opinions, and most importantly, you value their time.
Being consistently responsive can boost customer loyalty. A 2019 study revealed that 72% of millennials would prefer to be loyal to a brand that responded to them.
While it may not always be possible to communicate immediately to everyone who comments on your page or sends you a message, it is crucial to interact with as many and as quickly as possible.
2. Share content that tugs at the heartstrings
Using emotional marketing strategies is a great way to cultivate customer loyalty. When you evoke happiness or empathy, your customers can create a solid emotional bond with your brand.
There is a greater chance that your customers will share content that resonates with their emotions. Whatever your emotional theme is, it would be best to keep your content in good taste. It is also a good idea to share videos for more impact and a broader audience reach.
3. Post at the right time
Facebook has a tremendous user base, making it a go-to marketing platform among businesses. Competing for attention in that space is tough, so you need to time your posts correctly. High-quality content and excellent timing go hand in hand in ensuring your customers stay in your social media sphere.
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all posting schedule that applies to all businesses. It would be best to study your customer’s online behavior, so you can gauge the best time to post. When you’re active on the social media playground simultaneously, there are more chances for a fruitful engagement.
4. Create CTAs that motivate
Social media is teeming with offers, invitations, and promotions from various brands. That’s why you need to be always on your toes when creating calls to action. Be explicit about the next step that you want your customers to take. Do you want them to sign-up for a newsletter, download an ebook, or share your post, among others?
Your customers can have a rewarding user experience when there are clear instructions of what to do next after reading your posts. Creative CTAs make engagement more exciting and will give your customers something to anticipate. It is also a way to guide them towards the end of the sales funnel.
5. Showcase your glowing reviews
When people share their love for your brand through online reviews, it reinforces the trust of your current customers. You can leverage that social proof by spreading glowing reviews to nudge leads in your direction.
Customer reviews, photos, and testimonials are all forms of user-generated content or UGC. You can use these UGCs to acknowledge your loyal customers through shout-outs, mentions, or tags. Not only is it a way to market to potential customers, but it’s also a means to show your appreciation to the current ones.
6. Utilize dynamic ads
Building brand loyalty takes time. Your customer’s loyalty strengthens as they continuously reap the benefits of your products and services. Dynamic ads can motivate your online shoppers to purchase again after viewing the products they have seen before.
You can connect your product catalog to Facebook to set up your dynamic ads. It works on Instagram, as well. Facebook’s algorithm will use your customer’s previous site behavior to choose the relevant products it will show them.
7. Make engagement fun through stickers
Marketing paraphernalia has come a long way. Flyers, business cards, and pens have taken a back seat to make room for digital stickers and twibbons. These modern marketing collaterals allow customers to convey their messages in apps such as Messenger and Viber in a fun and personalized way.
Implementing a branded sticker campaign is a great idea to encourage dynamic interactions among your loyal followers. Your brand can become a mainstay in your customer’s social media life by using relatable stickers in their everyday conversations.
Build and Nurture Your Audience
It would be best to pay attention to your customers’ interests and involvement in social media to create a meaningful and loyal relationship with your customers. When you respond to their messages or share emotional and relatable content, you spark a high level of engagement.
Nurturing your audience is a proven way to build brand loyalty. If you are successful in creating a community of loyal customers, robust sales will naturally follow.
About the author :
Author: Trevor Michael
Author Bio: Trevor Michael is a Customer Contact Industry Specialist of Select VoiceCom, an outbound telemarketing outsourcing call center. He has operated successfully within this niche industry for over ten years across Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia. He enjoys writing, golf, and going to social events.
