4 Keys to Building Brand Loyalty with Social Media

You’ve heard it before: Social media is an excellent way for businesses to reach potential customers. It can be utilized to learn more about a target audience’s likes, pain points, and behaviors. But social media is much more than that. Since social media is easily accessible, it’s an essential tool for establishing and building brand loyalty.

In case you didn’t know, brand loyalty is a must! Why? It’s what keeps a customer coming back for more of your products or services instead of going to your competitors. Without brand loyalty, businesses would have to continuously find new customers. We all know it’s less expensive to retain customers than to acquire new ones, so let’s get into it!

Here are four ways to build brand loyalty with social media:

Show your face.
One of the biggest (and most common) mistakes brands make on social media is “selling” too often. Why would someone buy from you if they don’t know you? Your customers want and need to know who you are.

Think of it this way: Your customers want interaction, not transaction. Showing your face gives your brand authenticity. No one wants to give their time or money to a spammy, robot account. Showing who you are can also boost your credibility. The more believable and trustworthy you are, the more successful you’ll be!

Has your favorite brand ever posted a behind-the-scenes look at something in the works? Has an industry leader you follow ever shared an exclusive business or life update? When that happens, you feel important. You feel special, like a part of the family. That’s the way you want your customers to feel towards your brand!

Be transparent.
As with any relationship, transparency and vulnerability build trust between you and your audience. When you show your face, you should also show your heart. Every day, your audience is bombarded with information from every direction. The information that will stick is information that is real. Avoid being overlooked by refraining from pretentious content.

Instead, share your story. Why did you start your business? What is it that gets you out of bed every morning and motivates you each day? Information like this is more valuable than you may have realized.

Share your journey. You know it, and your audience knows it: Life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. By sharing the struggles you’ve overcome (and are currently navigating), you become relatable. You become less of a salesperson and more of an inspiration.

Be consistent.
Brand awareness and recognition are common goals in social media marketing. Of course, you want consumers to see your content or logo and immediately make a connection. That’d be incredible! But to accomplish that, you need to be consistent.

Consistency is two-fold because you’ll want your audience to know what and when to expect to hear from you. Let’s talk about each aspect separately.

What: Your social media content and messages need to be cohesive. Everything you post and say should point to your overall business goals. This doesn’t mean every post needs to be the same. Instead, every post should guide your audience to the same outcome. To do that, establish and develop a strategy. What’s your mission? What’s your focus? If you don’t know what you’re talking about or trying to accomplish, your audience won’t either.

You also want your branding to be standardized. That means colors, fonts, and tone should be consistent, too. Rebranding happens from time to time, but you want your customer base to know who you are. When you see a McDonald’s ad, there’s no doubt in your mind. That’s the kind of consistency you want!

When: Developing and maintaining a consistent posting schedule creates a positive experience for your followers. They’ll know when to tune in for updates, videos, sales, and more. Just remember to keep your audience in mind and set realistic goals for yourself.

Do you have the content to be able to post something every day? Or should you scale back? What days of the week and during what time of day is your target audience online? Answer those questions, and you’ll be well on your way!

Respond and Engage.
In a world where everything is fast-paced, no one wants to be on hold for hours with customer service or even wait for a call-back. More and more users are treating social media as a customer service tool — asking questions, sharing reviews and user-generated content, even leaving complaints. What does that mean for you?

As a business owner, you want to be involved. Whether it’s a critique or a word of praise, responding to your audience is essential to developing brand loyalty. Social media is more than a place to talk to your audience. It’s a place to talk with them.

How can you accomplish this? Ask questions in your posts, and take note of the answers. Respond to private messages and comments whenever possible. Like and comment on user-generated content, and share that content to your stories and pages when applicable.

Remember: Your customers are people, just like you. They want to know you and develop a relationship with you. They want you to listen to them and connect with them. With social media, you can accomplish all that and more!

Contact The AD Leaf Marketing Firm!
While these four keys will set you on the right path, it can be a bit challenging and overwhelming to know where to start. You don’t have to do it on your own. If you’re looking to create a stellar social media strategy, build brand loyalty, and climb the ladder of success, call The AD Leaf Marketing Firm at 321-255-0900 or fill out our contact form!

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Ebony Marks Ebony Marks