Although running a social media campaign for your brand can be effective, it’s even better to create social media brand ambassadors. Not only are these individuals extremely loyal and usually customers themselves, they often bring an element of virality that can help market a brand even further and increase exposure. Here’s 4 great ways to create social media brand ambassadors.
Perhaps the best way to gain a legion of loyal followers is to connect with people on a human level. This may sound intuitive, however, it’s not as common as one would think. For example, it’s smart to include pictures of employees on social media profiles so customers can get to know a business on relatively personal level. This also allows a customer to put a face to a name (or position). Adding that ‘human element’ enables a brand to truly connect with its target audience and get customers to go to bat for it.
In order for your brand to thrive and establish a community, it’s also necessary to maintain consistent quality in all areas. Most importantly, a brand’s products or services should be great. No matter how spectacular one’s marketing campaign is, serious success is unlikely without exceptional products or services. Customer service should also be efficient and able to handle disputes without upsetting customers. Also, a large part of excellence is to consistently exceed the expectations of customers.
The third way to create social media brand ambassadors is being transparent with customers (and the community). Transparency establishes a level of trust and tends to make potential customers more comfortable with making a purchase. One way to accomplish this is to respond to customer comments or questions on a public website (or via social channels) where everyone can see. For example, a business could respond to inquiries on a Facebook timeline page where others have convenient access to the information. As a bonus, this type of transparency promotes discussion and can reduce the need to answer the same questions over and over.
Finally, it’s important for a business to be on top of its game and respond to customers and potential customers in a timely manner. Whether it’s an order issue, a complaint or praise, a business should respond as quickly as possible. In fact, many social media users expect to see a response within one hour. Not only will a fast response help illicit online praise (or promotion), it will also mitigate any harmful negative social posts.