Social media breeds customer loyalty

Small business social media is helping breed loyalty among customers as the way companies and clients interact fundamentally shifts.

According to research from The Logic Group, in the last six months one in five Brits have visited the Facebook page of a brand they consider themselves to be loyal to, the Retail Times reported.

However, just nine per cent have received an offer via social media during the period, indicating the potential small businesses have to expand in this area

Anthony Jones, CEO of The Logic Group, said carefully considered content posted on social media offers businesses greater opportunities to communicate with companies throughout their "purchasing journey".

He said social media is changing the way in which customers view loyalty programmes and small businesses should adjust their own offerings accordingly.

"Consumers are no longer only interested in reaping the benefits from traditional card-based programmes, but are looking to alternatives such as social media and real-time discounting to stay loyal," he explained.

Four ways social media can build loyalty

Mr Jones highlighted four key areas where he sees social media improving the customer experience:

-          Providing a more customer-friendly and personal tone to communications
-          Responding quickly to customer queries
-          Offering targeted deals and offers to followers
-          Providing more relevant information for customers

It is on this latter point where having a first-class content strategy comes into play. High-quality content can be used to coach customers through the buying cycle, as expert Lee Odden explains in his book Optimize.

According to Mr Odden, the cycle can be broken down into six stages; awareness, consideration, purchase, service, loyalty and advocacy. Providing targeted content for each stage can be a challenge, but ContentPlus can help with your small business's content marketing strategy and execution.

Read more about boosting customer loyalty

How content marketing adds value throughout the buying cycle

Social media presence 'incredibly important' for small businesses

Engage beyond the initial sale with content marketing

How do you foster loyalty among your customers?