Social media has become an integral part of our daily lives, and it’s not just for sharing cat videos and personal updates. Businesses, big and small, have recognized the immense potential of social media in building and nurturing customer loyalty. As a computer repair service in the UK, we’ve learned a thing or two about leveraging social media to connect with our most loyal customers.
The Loyalty Landscape
Many brands are struggling to capture value from their loyalty programs, and they’re trying to figure out how to best use social media to communicate with these customers. Some companies have even set up distinct social media accounts for their programs. For these efforts to be successful, companies need to know how to use social media to drive sales from members.
Through extensive research, we’ve learned that certain types of communication are more successful than others. After rating over 3,500 posts on particular dimensions and connecting those posts to sales, the study authors found that relational and intellectual posts were most effective in driving sales for loyalty program customers, while behavioral posts drove more sales from non-loyalty program customers. Sensory and emotional posts weren’t effective with either group in the study.
Cultivating Loyalty through Social Media
Loyalty marketing has never been more important than it is right now. This pandemic has forced a major shift towards digital, and many businesses are re-evaluating how to use social media to improve customer loyalty. As one of the numerous touchpoints that brands use to engage their customers these days, social media helps to create an omnichannel experience for the consumer.
This is especially true for millennials, who currently account for over 90% of global social media usage and whose collective spending power now exceeds $1.4 trillion. It’s also worth noting that 95% of internet users between the ages of 18 and 34 follow at least one brand on social media. Put all of this information together, and it’s clear that businesses need to ensure their social media marketing and customer retention strategies are working hand-in-hand.
Gamifying the Customer Experience
One of the most effective ways to use social media to improve customer loyalty is by incorporating exciting promotional campaigns. Instant prize draws, high-stakes competitions, and other thrilling activities should already be a vital part of your brand’s marketing. When you run these kinds of campaigns in such a way that social media engagement is required, you’ll be blown away by how fast this can jump-start online participation and boost your social media following as a result.
For example, shoe retailer Foot Locker executed this technique perfectly with its “HORSE with Harden” social media marketing campaign in 2014. Internet users around the world were invited to post videos of themselves taking three-pointer basketball shots on various social media channels along with the campaign’s assigned hashtags. Upon the event’s conclusion, entrants could watch NBA legend James Harden compete against their submissions in a live stream provided by Foot Locker, essentially creating a worldwide online game of HORSE. The competition was designed to promote Foot Locker’s new digital loyalty app, which saw a rapid increase in registrations due to the “HORSE with Harden” challenge.
Cultivating Authentic Engagement
While the ultimate end-goal of loyalty marketing is to increase revenue and boost sales, customer engagement is the way to achieve this. For business owners wanting to know how to use social media to improve customer loyalty, the first thing you can do is allow customers to sign up for your loyalty program with their social media profiles. Not only does it make the signup process quicker and easier for the customer, but it allows you to link their social media activity with your rewards program.
This means you can offer customers loyalty points towards their next reward for things like sharing your brand’s content, writing product reviews, posting video tutorials, and generally becoming an online ambassador for your business. Cosmetics brands in particular have been doing this for years now, and the L’Oreal “Worth It Rewards” program doesn’t just reward members for sharing content—it rewards you for creating original content on L’Oreal’s behalf. This is quite frankly ingenious, as L’Oreal has managed to get its customers writing online product reviews, posting make-up tutorials on YouTube, referring friends, and sharing existing L’Oreal content—all in exchange for some loyalty points.
Humanizing Your Brand
Social media is a golden opportunity to have an ongoing conversation with your customers. Customer engagement at its finest and most personal, social media allows you to provide value by establishing yourself as a knowledgeable, trustworthy, and authentic brand. People tend to give preference to brands they know and trust, and social media is your chance to create loyalty moments, humanize your brand, and showcase its unique personality.
Leverage the conversations users are already having and talk to them. Make them feel like your brand is a part of their daily lives. Find out which platforms customers are using to review your products and leverage those forums to answer any questions. Thanking people who write positive reviews is a great way to engage your customers and give them a sense of exclusivity, while solving problems for those who write negative reviews can have positive ramifications.
Conclusion
Social media has become an indispensable tool for building and nurturing customer loyalty in the 21st century. By incorporating creative promotional campaigns, cultivating authentic engagement, and humanizing your brand, you can create a strong emotional connection with your most loyal customers. As a computer repair service in the UK, we’ve seen firsthand the power of social media in driving customer loyalty and retention.
If you’re ready to take your customer loyalty to the next level, be sure to visit itfix.org.uk to learn more about our comprehensive suite of services. Let’s work together to create a social media strategy that will keep your customers coming back time and time again.
