Connect with Customers on Social Media
By Eliece Hammond
I’m a customer and Facebook power user when I’m not developing online marketing strategies. I’m a fan of hundreds of businesses that regularly post interesting, engaging content on my feed. Here is what I love to see as a customer: companies posting what they love about what they do, or what they love in their community, or what they love about their customers. I am inspired by the great creative energy that comes out of a company telling a story about their passion.
Reward User Engagement
My gym – Club ONE – posts a challenge every month with a prize. The first month was the One-Minute Planking challenge: Plank for one minute (hold a push-up), take a video of it, upload it to their Facebook page, and be entered to win one of their t-shirts. That first month, I won the t-shirt and it was a great challenge. Not only that, all of my Facebook friends (gym members or not) got on their wall to check out my plank in action and then clicked around to see other member videos and many ended up joining the club. Talk about fostering great click-through!
I love eating frozen yogurt at Yogurtland. Recently, a friend of mine posted on her Facebook timeline that if I checked in to Yogurtland on Foursquare, I would get 3 ounces of frozen yogurt for free. I immediately reposted this useful fact to my Facebook timeline and made a fro-yo date with my friends after work. Well-played, Yogurtland!
One of my guilty pleasures is getting my hair blown out at the Drybar salon. I “liked” Drybar on Facebook and found out they were putting a new location in right down the street from me. I commented on their wall about my excitement and also that I was sad to hear the project had been delayed by a month. They sent me an email with all of the grand opening specials for the new location and a coupon. All I did was comment on their wall. They must really love me!
There is a sense that the businesses in my hometown are rewarding me for staying connected and loyal; And that these same businesses are enmeshed in their Facebook community, telling a story about who they are in a personal, relatable way. The cohesiveness of these brands and their popularity is a careful alignment of marketing with loyal partners, vendors, and customers sharing the love along the way.
Take the Perspective of the Customer
The lesson I take from my own experiences as a customer is something I draw on every day as a marketing strategist. Everything I recommend is pre-filtered through my view as a customer and a loyal partner. “What do we love about this business?” is a question I frequently ask myself, my clients, my partners, and their customers.
If you’re interested in more ways to reach and attract customers, we can help. Contact Dream Local Digital today to start growing your business.
