Social media has existed for less than two decades, but it's had a powerful effect on brand marketing. Today, most people will look up a brand on social media while making buying decisions and post about their preferred brands on social pages, testifying to their network of friends about the positives of their favorite brands.
Social media helps build brand loyalty and encourages repeat product sales. Here are some of the ways it accomplishes this.
1. Makes responsiveness easy.
If a brand monitors its social media pages, it's so easy to be responsive to both positive and negative comments. Responsiveness builds brand loyalty because it shows a brand really cares about its customers and wants to make things right when things go wrong. It also generates more buzz when comments are positive.
2. Gives constant feedback.
Because it's easy to like, share, and comment on social media, it becomes a place of constant feedback for brands. When brands respond to feedback and incorporate it into their best practices and product plans, customers will become more loyal to the brand and seek to buy from it regularly.
3. Lets users generate content.
Some of the best-branded social media content is user-generated content, which can be curated or allowed in a more freeform way (but still monitored carefully). Loyal users often come up with unique ways of using a product, ideas for variations on a product, and even new product ideas. Users may also create advertising-type content that resonates with customers and is typically free for brands to use. If the content is consistent with your CPG brand voice, it makes sense to use it to the fullest.
4. Creates a community.
Social media creates a community of customers and fans, which can help generate loyalty and sustain customer engagement. The behavior of the community, including purchasing the brand's products, fosters ongoing support and a culture based on using the product. There's no more powerful sales tool than creating a community around a brand to support and sustain it.
5. Allows frequent updates.
Most brand websites are only updated weekly. Others, even less than that. Social media is constantly updating as the brand, customers, and other individuals post new content daily, sometimes hourly or even more often. Brands can post new deals or other content multiple times a day if they want to. Brand devotees will sign up to get notified of each new posting, so they don't miss relevant news or deals.
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