“Ninety three percent (93%) of marketers use social media for business purposes,” according to Social Media Today. As the holiday season approaches, it’s important to remember: keeping customers satisfied involves thanking them for their business.
Luckily, it’s easy to say ‘thank you’ through social media. By doing this, you begin to shape perceptions about your business and build a stronger reputation. Then, you’re not only depending on social media for generalized marketing tasks, but you can also retain more customers.
Below, discover five creative and effective ways to use social media to thank customers.
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Share Customer News on Your Social Feeds
Perhaps a customer has announced an art opening or a client who’s actively involved with a community landed national press. Regardless of the specifics, your customers will really appreciate gestures that make it easier for them to get recognized for projects. Use your company’s social media feed to spread the word about what customers are doing and inspire other followers as well.
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Personally Connect with Social Media Followers
“Like us, and we’ll like you back.” That short and to-the-point phrase has become somewhat of a tagline. When possible, connect with those who take the time to “like” your business on Facebook. It sounds like such a simple thing, but it’s important to take steps towards understanding your target audience. Customers will notice how you’ve taken time out to keep in touch via social media. Meanwhile, since the number of “likes” or “tweeps” has become increasingly important, any organic method of boosting social proof is welcomed. Connecting with your customer base creates a win-win situation.
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Conduct Customer Spotlights
Consider featuring one customer per month, or per week, and publish a social media post revealing fun facts. This allows you to personally reach out to customers; meanwhile it may cause clients to eagerly wonder if they will be next. For instance, last year, Febreze, a brand of household odor eliminators, spent dozens of hours thanking customers through a live feed. Although they did it to mark the accomplishment of reaching one million Facebook followers, the point was to assure customers how each of one of them was responsible for the feat. A customer spotlight is an easier, but still beneficial, way to demonstrate your gratefulness and reinforce the idea that you can’t succeed without loyal customers.
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Crowdsource and Utilize Customer Feedback
The holiday season often gives great insight into which products or services are hot sellers and why. However, there are always improvements to be made. Turn to social media and express thanks then, give customers the chance to offer their feedback. One of the clearest ways to show you value customer opinions is to incorporate feedback into future versions of a product or service you offer.
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Offer Social Media Education and Exclusives
Social media fans love to get the scoop about things that aren’t available elsewhere. You can harness that reality regardless of your industry or profession. For instance, maybe you manage a rehab center and want to publish an infographic to illustrate statistics on the most helpful ways for recovering addicts to survive the holiday season, without suffering a relapse. On the other hand, if you’ve created a thriving homemade jewelry business, it might be time to give customers a discount code offered exclusively on your official social media networks.
These are merely a few examples of how social media can be used as a vehicle to deliver things people can’t easily get elsewhere. An element of exclusivity should help customers feel valued not just during the holidays, but throughout the year.
By experimenting with these methods, you’ll be on your way to cultivating and displaying gratitude that spreads to all of your customers. Try them now and spread holiday cheer that could impact lasting customer loyalty.
Courtney Gordner is a passionate blogger with a love for social media and internet marketing! Connect with her on her blog or Twitter!
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