Social media has revolutionised the way we communicate and interact for years. For businesses, it has become an essential tool for building and engaging with audiences. With so many social media platforms available today, it can sometimes be a little overwhelming trying to figure out how to use them to gain customer loyalty. In this article, I explore key ways how social media can and should be used to build customer relationships, to create an engaged and loyal audience, one who is more likely to remember you, use you and recommend you to others.
1. Know your audience
The first step to building a loyal client is to know your audience. Understanding their needs, interests and preferences will help you create content that resonates with them. Spend time researching your target audience correctly. Ask questions like Who are they? Where are they? When are they online? How do they behave on social media?
Each social media platform offers its own analytics and you can get an idea of your audience here. I like using Meta Business (Facebook and Instagram) as they have some great professional stats for business pages. Some other online tools I use to help research my audience and create an example Customer Persona are Google Trends, Statista and Google Analytics. Once you know your audience you can then begin to tailor the content their likes, wants and needs.
2. Be consistent
Consistency is key when it comes to building an engaged audience on social media. Post regularly and at the same time each day. This will help your audience know when to expect new content from you and help the social media algorithm show your posts more often. If you post irregularly, your audience may lose interest and forget about you. Always remember consistency builds trust and reliability!
Depending on the social network depends on when you should post for maximum visibility and how many times a day or week you should be posting. Below are a few examples:
- Facebook & Instagram – Posting 3 to 7 times a week is ideal. If you post more than 2 times a day, make sure you leave at least 3 hours between each post.
- TikTok – TikTok themselves say to post between 1 to 4 times a day and up to 3 times a day for maximum visibility.
- Pinterest – It is recommended to do a minimum of 3 Pins per day with no more than 25. I suggest using Tailwind for automating Pinterest posts.
- Linkedin – Ideally 2 times a week with no more than one post a day.
- Twitter – It has been said 3 and 6 Tweets per day is ideal, however, if this is not possible then once per day.
3. Engage with your audience
Engaging with your audience is crucial to building trust and loyalty. Respond to comments and messages promptly, making sure you address any concerns or questions. This will show your audience that you care about them and value their opinions. It’s also an opportunity to show there is a real person behind the business and brand. You can get to add a little more of your personality here, helping create more promising customer relations for the future.
4. Use good visuals
Visuals are an important part of social media and make sure you use high-quality images and videos to capture your audience’s attention. Visuals help tell a story, evoke emotion, and increase engagement. Make sure your visuals are relevant to your brand and message.
I’ve found static images have been doing a lot better recently than video on Facebook. TikTok is all about quick, fun or real video content. Instagram is a little in the middle with both static images and video working well, however, do be careful not to make the video content look too professional looking, esoacially if you are after organic reach and interactions. Whatever you choose though, do remember to go mobile-friendly with the formats. These will naturally be better for the platform algorithms and you’ll be more likely to reach a larger audience.
5. Provide value
Social media is not just about promoting your brand. Provide value to your audience by sharing informative and educational content. This will establish you as an leading authority figure within your industry, helping build trust with your audience. 4 key fundamentals to creating content are to entertain, persuade, educate and inspire. Sometimes you’ll use just one aspect and somethings you may use more, just remember to mix and match them up along the way, otherwise it can get a little borning or preachy.
6. Collaborate with others
Collaborating with other businesses or influencers can help reach a wider audience and build more credibility. Find businesses or influencers in your industry and collaborate on content or promotions. This will help gain more exposure, brand awareness and build relationships with not just customers other businesses too.
7. Track your metrics
Make sure you track your metrics to see what content engages your audience the most. Using this information to see which posts perform well and which ones don’t, means you can adjust your content strategy accordingly. This will help you to create future content your audience is more likely to engage with, building good relationships and loyalty along the way. Set SMART objectives and use relevant key social media performance indicators. Depending on the social network, some examples KPIs might be impressions, followers, likes, engagement rate, shares, clicks, reach and so on.
So, there you have it, 7 ways to use social media tactically. In conclusion, social media is a powerful tool for building great customer relations and loyalty. To start with you must understand your audience. Being consistent with your posts and engaging in a conversion will only help you with your visibility. Don’t forget to use the best visual formats for your platform and make sure there is a reason behind your post. If you can, collaborate with others relevant to your industry. And last but not least, track and measure your statistics, as this will only help guide you with any future social media content decisions.