Five Ways to Retain Customers With Social Media

Old marketing theory claims that it costs five times more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep one. Taking this on board, you should aim to go the extra mile with your after-sales service and marketing. Social media is becoming an increasingly popular channel for retaining customers and this post covers five simple ways social media can be used to help keep customers returning.

Treat your social media pages as another customer support channel 

When your customers have a problem or a question, make it easier for them to get in touch by incorporating your customer support channel into your Facebook or Twitter pages. Doing this will also give you the opportunity to respond to disgruntled customers before they take their negative comments onto review sites and forums where they become harder to monitor and manage.

First Choice have a “here to help” app on their Facebook page which leads to an enquiry form on Facebook where people can ask the customer services team a question. The enquiry form is signed by ‘Hollie’, which adds a personal touch.

Tesco even has an entire Twitter page dedicated to customer care.

Show your personality

One of the biggest bonuses of using social media for your brand is the ability to show off your personality and connect with your customers on a personal level. Social media pages don’t need to be serious; they are about having some fun with your customers.

The Fanta Facebook page features lots of silly posts like hiccup cures, games and cartoon pictures.

Post special offers

Give your customers a reason to keep returning by promoting special offers on your social media pages.

Pizza Hut’s Twitter page is full of special deals for followers to take advantage of.

Regularly posting sharable content

Keeping your social media pages regularly updated will help to keep your brand at the forefront of your fans’ and followers’ minds. As well as posting regularly, make sure you are posting things you know your fans’ and followers’ will like and more importantly engage with.

Galaxy chocolate clearly knows their Facebook fans as they regularly post pictures of chocolate and cakes which always get lots of likes, shares and comments.

Get your customers involved

Reward your loyal fans and followers by giving them the opportunity to get involved with your brand and the development of new products. Giving customers this responsibility and involvement will make them feel valued and improve their connection with your brand. Cadbury recently launched a competition page asking people to design a new chocolate bar.

Oreo's "birthday of the day" Facebook feature is also a great way to involve customers and increase loyalty. It also adds a personal touch to their Facebook social media strategy.

We hope you find these social media tips useful. If you need some help with your social media pages then please get in touch!