Brand loyalty is a key component of marketing in the twenty-first century. Thanks to social media, which gives companies the ability to interact directly with consumers, brand loyalty has become easier to achieve than ever before.
To help companies get started with a social media plan, we asked 14 successful entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) the following question:
What is one way companies can use social media to increase brand loyalty?
1. Develop a consistent voice and aesthetic
Developing a consistent voice and aesthetic across all platforms is critical to building brand awareness and loyalty. However, it’s important to post different content on different platforms to attract and engage followers. Just make sure your visual content, style, and tone are not the same, but are consistent. —Kristin Kimberly Marquet, Marquet Media, LLC
2. Have a dedicated social customer care team
Have a dedicated team to handle social customer care. So many consumers use social channels for support, even if a brand doesn’t officially “do” it, so it just makes sense to dedicate resources to it. Try to monitor your social channels regularly and let people know when you’re online so they know when to expect a response. —Thomas Griffin, OptinMonster
3. Focus on interacting more with people
Interacting with people online is key, whether it’s commenting, connecting via private message, or just sharing content and answering questions about your products or services. People appreciate communicating with a real person and not feeling like it’s just a robot responding to them. Engagement promotes brand visibility as well, as people will see that there has been recent activity on your social media. —John Hall, Calendar
4. Get active on Facebook and Instagram Stories
Audiences are foregoing the traditional news feed for more ephemeral content. With just small doses of visuals and copy, they’ll keep coming back for more. Other times, they may mute your in-stream posts, but many will still toggle through your Stories. It’s an easily digestible format, especially now that audiences have ever shortening attention spans. —Firas Kittaneh, Zoma Mattress
5. Offer giveaways, discounts, and exclusive content
Companies can provide giveaways, discounts, and even exclusive content through their social platforms. Consumer behavior changes from platform to platform so it’s important that a company dedicates its time to serving consumers appropriately based on the platform. —Jordan Edelson, Appetizer Mobile LLC
6. Be responsive with customer service
When a brand engages with their audience and their customers on social media, they are able to show how they are adding value and serving customers. This is a great way to stimulate brand loyalty. —Nicole Munoz, Nicole Munoz Consulting, Inc.
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7. Hire brand ambassadors
Brand ambassadors promote your brand and company from their personal social media platform, and this is a more approachable way to grasp the attention of the audience you are targeting. —Riccardo Conte, Virtus Flow
8. Share positive reviews and testimonials
Sharing positive reviews and testimonials (including during short video interviews) accomplishes two goals at a time: a strong and positive brand toward prospects and a thriving community whose voice is heard. The more you openly share success stories on social, the more incoming reviews you’ll receive as a result. —Mario Peshev, DevriX
9. Make the customer a hero
Make the customer a hero of every piece of content coming from your company. Don’t talk about your product or service. Shift the perspective to them. It should always be their needs addressed, their pain points solved. Instead of “Our product is great,” make it “Here’s how you will solve XYZ.” —Solomon Thimothy, OneIMS
10. Build an online community
Try to build an online group or a strong community. People thrive when they belong to a group they closely identify with. For your business, this could mean showcasing your values and speaking to the interests and passions of your users. When you build an online community, you’re more likely to get engagement and shares, and your audience will start to identify more with your brand. —Blair Williams, MemberPress
11. Educate your audience
Add value through educating. Don’t just promote your products or services on social—you will quickly lose your audience. Instead, look for ways you can educate your audience through sharing your own content that is educational or highlights others in your industry. —Kelsey Raymond, Influence & Co.
12. Share your fundamental values
Customers today want to support companies that share their values, so don’t be shy about sharing your business’s fundamental principles. Find ways to show customers what your brand stands for. For example, share content about causes and charities that are close to the heart of your company. Make sure you always focus on being authentic and genuine. —Blair Thomas, eMerchantBroker
13. Stand up for a good cause
With everything happening right now in the world, brands can stand out and easily build loyalty by standing up for good causes. People are passionate about social issues, whereas most businesses prefer to stay out of them. However, when you take a stand for what you believe in, it sets you apart and people can see that. They want to do business with brands that believe in something. —Jared Atchison, WPForms
14. Give your platform to others’ voices
Use your media source as a platform for others’ voices. Instead of simply sharing your brand, invite your customers and audience to share their opinions, stories, and insights on your page. The more you generate a community feeling, the more likely your audience is going to hang around and trust the brand you are building. —Matthew Podolsky, Florida Law Advisers, P.A.
RELATED: How to Make Social Media Your New Sales Channel
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