The Real Power of Fans and Followers

A piece I wrote for my office’s blog on the power that a strong social media presence can have on repeat business. Reposted from the ReachLocal NYC Cast Page:

With the proliferation of both national and local brands using social media to engage with their consumer bases, Get Satisfaction recently created an infographic citing data from Razorfish, Econsultancy and SocialMediaToday that details why customers connect with brands online and the effects these connections can have.

Not surprisingly, nearly 70% of people who connect to businesses and brands on Facebook and Twitter cite being either a current customer of the business or following brands to gain access to special offers and deals. An additional 20% of respondents pointed to the interesting or entertaining content posted on Facebook and Twitter as being the primary reason they follow brands.

Furthermore, between 60 and 70% of people who connect to brands online say that they consider these brands when they are in the market for new products, often wind up buying products or services from these brands AND recommend the brands the connect with to their friends and family. A staggering 97% of respondents said that their online experiences affected later purchases from a specific brand or business.

The takeaway?

(1) Social media is a powerful customer loyalty tool. When your customers are engaging with you online, they are saying that they not only endorse your work or product, but that they actively want to hear more from you.

(2) You should absolutely be leveraging your current client base to help build your social media presence- and you should make sure you are rewarding them with a special deal or offer every now and again.

(3) You don’t have to be afraid to crack a joke or offer up some industry-related tips & information- by connecting to you, they are showing interest in what you have to say.

(4) Though not always immediately quantifiable in terms of dollars, social media can certainly help with this ambiguous thing that is customer loyalty. In short, it keeps ‘em coming back.