How to use social media to increase customer loyalty

Social media has become an essential tool for businesses, not only for promoting their products and services but also for establishing strong, lasting relationships with their customers. In this article, we'll explore best practices and strategies for making the most of social media and increasing customer loyalty.

1. Establish the brand's personality and voice

a. Define the brand personality

For customers to engage with a brand on social media, it's essential that it has a distinct personality and voice. A brand's personality must be aligned with the company's communications and marketing strategy, considering aspects such as its history, experience, and corporate values. Furthermore, it's important that this personality be multidimensional, like that of real people.

b. Choosing the appropriate tone of voice

The tone of voice with which a brand communicates on social media should be consistent with its personality and adapted to the characteristics of its audience. It's essential to maintain an attractive and high-quality profile design across all social media accounts, as this builds trust among followers and encourages greater engagement with the brand.

2. Encourage follower participation

a. Organize contests and challenges

A creative way to maintain engagement with followers on social media is to run contests and challenges. Marketing campaigns using this approach have proven effective in maintaining consumer interest in companies that promote such activities.

b. Invite followers to share their opinions

Don't be afraid to ask your followers to share their opinions and concerns on social media. Responding to customer comments and concerns is essential to building customer loyalty and maintaining a strong relationship.

3. Use storytelling to connect with customers

Stories on social media, such as those on Facebook and Instagram, are content that captures users' attention. Many brands are successfully using storytelling to share real or fictional stories that reflect corporate values and connect with followers.

a. Share real brand stories

Telling stories about the brand's beginnings, the company's employees, or how its products have significantly changed customers' lives can be an effective strategy for building loyalty among followers on social media.

b. Invite followers to share their experiences with the brand

Encouraging followers to share their experiences with the brand on social media can generate a high level of engagement and loyalty. Furthermore, these stories can be shared with family, friends, and other followers, expanding the brand's reach.

4. Maintain the conversation with followers and respond to their comments and concerns

Brand loyalty is like friendship: it grows and strengthens over time. Therefore, it's essential to maintain the conversation with customers on social media. Posting ads targeted at customers who haven't purchased or visited the company's website in a while can be an effective strategy to remind them of the brand's existence and offer them products and services that interest them.

5. Identify and nurture brand ambassadors

a. Define who the brand ambassadors are

Brand ambassadors are those customers who:

• They send traffic to the website or online store.
• They write positive comments about the products or services.
• They follow the brand's social media accounts and subscribe to the brand's newsletter.

b. Encourage the participation of ambassadors

Once potential ambassadors have been identified, it's important to encourage their participation on social media so they become real ambassadors. To do this, you can use social listening tools like Lithium or Hootsuite, which facilitate audience interaction and conversation monitoring.

6. Create a rewards program

a. Offer exclusive access to unique content

Creating exclusive social media groups where members (ambassadors) have access to exclusive content, such as behind-the-scenes videos, educational resources, definitive guides, or research results, can be an effective strategy for building customer loyalty.

b. Award points for interaction on social networks

Incentivizing ambassadors to earn points through their social media engagement can strengthen their brand loyalty. It's important to personalize offers and give them the opportunity to learn about upcoming promotions so they can provide feedback and incorporate new ideas.

7. Measure and analyze customer responses

An excellent way to monitor customer loyalty is through online satisfaction surveys. These provide valuable insights for making decisions about the quality of after-sales service, the loyalty program, and product and service improvements.

8. Offer benefits and discounts to existing customers

Offering benefits to customers who have already purchased from the company is an effective strategy for building loyalty. This makes them feel valued and privileged for having chosen the brand's products or services.

a. Offer discounts on products through social media

One option is to offer discounts on products through Facebook or run contests for users who have made purchases in the store or used the services.

b. Use tools to create sweepstakes and contests

Tools like SocialTools make it easy to create sweepstakes and contests to entertain your followers on social media. For example, you can invite your audience to participate in a photo contest using your brand's products, and the winner could receive a purchase order.

9. Share emotionally impactful content

Sharing heartwarming content on social media can increase follower engagement and retain customers. People enjoy being moved and experiencing feelings like empathy, tenderness, joy, and identification with other living beings.

10. Re-share the best content

This technique is highly effective, especially because it's backed by the facts: sharing the best content, those that have achieved the highest engagement rates and favorable responses from the public, guarantees that there's something in it that appeals to people. Therefore, it's advisable to review the posts on each of your social accounts that have been most well-received by your followers and reshare them periodically.

In short, social media is a powerful tool for building customer loyalty and maintaining strong relationships. By applying these strategies, companies can increase customer loyalty and improve their performance in today's competitive business world.