7 Ways to Leverage Social Media to Build Lasting Customer Relationships

Today, any brand’s reputation and perception vastly depend on the relationships they have with their customers. 

It’s easy to create competent products and spend money on advertising. But the brands that put in special efforts in creating meaningful customer relationships are the ones that stand out.

Social media is one of the best platforms for starting conversations and nurturing them into long-lasting customer relationships. 

This makes sense because consumers spend hours each day scrolling through their social media feeds. So, why not make the best use out of it and cultivate relationships with consumers?!

Another reason why social media acts as an excellent medium for building customer relationships is that it helps you bring together a community rather than connecting with your customers one-on-one, as in emails or phone calls. 

Community helps users to have a sense of belonging and acts as social proof. This helps you strengthen your relationships more and bring in new people into the community.

If you are looking for some practical and actionable tips that can help you use social media to build lasting customer relationships, then read on to learn exactly that. Let’s dive deep into some of these strategies.

1. Pick the Right Social Media Channels

Picking the right social media platform is the 101 of building customer relationships. If you want to get the maximum ROI out of your efforts, then start by picking the right channel. 

If you already have a good social media presence, reevaluate your options, and develop new strategies. You don't want to waste time on social media platforms that do not predominantly consist of your customers.

Finding the most used social media channels is not difficult. Just put out a quick survey and research your competitors to figure this out. 

2. Leverage User-Generated Content

User-generated content is a brilliant way to strike the right chord with your customers on social media. User-generated content is when users essentially create content for your brand.

This can be done in various ways. For example, you can create a user-generated content campaign with a specific hashtag and ask your customers to post on social media using this hashtag. You can then reward them by featuring them on your social media or even send them some goodies. 

Another way to implement a user-generated content strategy is by asking your customers for future business ideas, campaign names, or anything similar that is meaningful.

Using user-generated content strategies, your customers feel more valued and satisfied. This will have a massive positive impact on your customer retention and loyalty. 

Another added perk would be the steady stream of referral customers and increased brand awareness due to your user-generated content campaign.

3. Use a Customer Relationship Management Tool

Using a Customer Relationship Management or CRM tool is a great way to manage your entire customer base with ease. 

This is necessary because your customers will have multiple touchpoints with your brand across various channels. These may be emails, phone calls, and different social media platforms.

A CRM tool will hold all this customer information at a commonplace. This will help you have meaningful interactions with customers leading to long-lasting customer relationships and increased customer retention rates.

4. Personalize and Humanize every Conversation

Just being a brand won’t work in your favor as much as showing your human side would. Consumers today don't connect with brands. They connect with the faces behind the brand. This is why it is super-important that you show this face behind the brand on social media.

You can do this by personalizing every conversation you have on social media, be it the comments or the private DM conversations. 

Use first names, and address the specific concerns of each customer. This one step will go a long way in improving your brand affinity.

Even if you have your team managing your social media, ensure that they use their first names, and customize each conversation. Have a social media customer experience strategy in place as this will make a vast difference to strengthen your customer relationship.

5. Frequently Reward your Customers

Rewarding your customers is a super-effective way to increase their affinity towards your brand and even earn new customers through referrals. Rewarding your customers makes them feel extra special. And when they have a community to share their wins, the reward becomes even more special.

You can reward your customers by holding contests and giveaways. Contests are a fun way to grab the attention of your customers and increase brand awareness while doing so. You can also hold special events and giveaways. 

Ensure that the rewards that you offer are precious for your customers. Otherwise, this strategy wouldn’t work. You can also feature your contests and giveaway winners on your social media feed and stories to further strengthen your relationship.

6. Be Quick with your Responses

Consumers today are highly impatient and wouldn’t bother waiting for your answer. So, the brand that offers quick responses gains brownie points. 

Quick responses make the customers feel important and valued. Your customers will start perceiving your brand as reliable and trustworthy because you are always there for them.

While quickly responding can have a significant positive impact, failing to respond soon can upset many customers. They might even leave your brand. This might lead to increased customer churn, and your brand’s online reputation might also be tarnished.

7. Go Live on Social Media

Social media lives are one of the best ways to connect with your customers and build fail-proof relationships with them. Social media lives enable you to have personalized interactions with your customers in real-time. 

This establishes a special connection between you and your customers. You can go live on a relevant topic or even host a Ask Me Anything (AMA) session with your social media followers. 

Start Building Long-Lasting Customer Relationships Through Social Media

So, over to you now! Start implementing these strategies right away. Personalize your conversations, go live often, offer quick responses to your customers, hold contests and giveaways, and leverage user-generated content. 

Over time, you’ll find yourself surrounded by customers who truly value your brand and remain loyal for life.

Featured image by yanalya on Freepik