How can social media be used to increase consumer satisfaction and retention? Social media is all about interaction, and that’s just as true for brand-consumer relationships as it is for person-to-person relationships.
Sure, putting ads and promotions on social media shows consumers that you’re present and helps with brand visibility, but that’s not different from what a website or commercial — say, print, environmental, or broadcast media — can do.
What makes social media so uniquely great as an avenue for brand development is letting users instantly interact and interface. The simple option to comment and respond is already an unprecedented avenue for building that vital sense of connection and community.
Of course, commenting is just the tip of the iceberg of possibility. The sheer speed of social media, for one thing, allows your company to weigh in on what’s happening in the world quickly — expressing sympathy in case of bad news; extending congratulations for good news; and generally demonstrating your brand values and culture, in a way that feels more immediate and involved than a press release.
Providing varied, interactive content — like quizzes, giveaways, opinion polls, and thought-provoking info — helps keep your company on consumers’ minds and takes the style of your social media presence from ‘presenting’ to ‘engaging.’
Engaging content is a terrific way to encourage consumers to connect with your brand, and those connections serve as valuable avenues for feedback and building blocks for customer loyalty. And promptly responding to consumer feedback, positive or negative, lets them know that you’re active, listening, and caring about what they have to say.
That, after all, is what customers truly want — to feel that they are seen, heard, and cared about. So, ideally, your online brand presence shouldn’t just say, “We’re here,” but instead, “Let’s have a conversation!”
