Every business owner knows the importance of having both a loyalty marketing program and an active presence on social media - the need for both is old news. However, it can sometimes be a little tricky to come up with effective ways to join forces between the two. If you're struggling to come up with ways to promote your loyalty program on your social sites, read on to learn how to make them work together to create a winning promotional strategy.
Five Tips to Use Social Media to Support Loyalty Marketing Efforts
Feeling stumped on how to integrate social media with your loyalty marketing efforts? Try these five ways to promote your incentive program on your social sites:
- Promotions: Offer promotions to loyalty club members exclusively on your social media sites. For example, if members like a certain Facebook post, they can receive 15% off all online purchases for the day or a free appetizer the next time they stop in your restaurant. People love discounts and opportunities to earn free things, so followers who haven't yet joined your loyalty program will certainly be enticed to do so.
- Public Praise: Everyone loves to be mentioned on social media, so call your loyal customers out! When someone redeems loyalty points in for a reward, announce the milestone on Facebook and Twitter. Not only will this make the customer feel appreciated, it will catch the attention of other follows and entice them to join the program as well.
- Rewards Mentions: Entice your loyalty program members to check-in at your business, post reviews, and share your content by giving them points each time they do so. For example, clothing retailer Express offers its Express NEXT loyalty program members the opportunity to earn extra bonus points by connecting their account to their Twitter handle, for retweeting the company's posts, and for following its @ExpressLife account. Members of Best Buy's Reward Zone loyalty program also earn bonus points by posting reviews and updates on recent purchases on Facebook.
- Listen to Social Chatter: Many customers aren't quick to make compliments or criticisms of a loyalty program directly to the business, but have no problem posting about it online to their friends. Conduct searches on social sites to see what people are saying about your loyalty program. This is a great way to gain valuable insight on aspects people really like and those they don't particularly care for. Also be sure to check out a number loyalty marketing program resources sites such as Colloquy.com.
- Offer VIP Access: Create an exclusive social media account for your loyalty program members. Use this as a place to offer news on your company's upcoming products, before the news hits your general social media pages. This can also be used as a place to invite loyalty program members to exclusive events, like store openings, new restaurant menu tastings, and more. Dating back to 2011, Mashable reported that high-end flash sale site Gilt Groupe, created invite-only Facebook groups for their most loyal customers. Upon joining the group, members were given event invitations, discounts, and access to sales before the general public. The purpose of this special treatment was to encourage members to get more of their friends to sign up for the site and Mashable reported the company had indeed seen an increase in referrals after the initial launch of the program.