The holiday season is a great reminder of how important it is to show your customers and communities appreciation. After all, who matters more in your community than the people who make it what it is? Just like the in-person connections you’re making at your branches, open communication plays a critical role on social media. While not every post on your pages will be beaming with positivity, how your financial brand decides to respond can also show leads how they will be treated if they become a customer. Below are some reminders on how to you can show thanks to those who support your financial brand.
Feature Your Customers
One of the easiest ways to showcase your customers is by featuring them on your social media channels each month! Whether it’s to celebrate a small business owner, a big accomplishment or to thank them for their business, profiles are an easy way to show appreciation. Your customers will appreciate a sentimental post and are likely to share it on their own personal pages (which then creates awareness for your brand). Don’t forget to ask (and get a signed release) before posting their photo.
Pro Tip: Add a standing customer shout out to your monthly content calendar so that your team stays motivated and consistent on posting. Consider placing a nomination box or form at your branches so employees can nominate star customers they want to see featured.
Create Open Conversation
Just because your financial brand runs a business profile doesn’t mean it has to be business all the time. Don’t wait to create conversation until you are asked a question; take the first step and create open dialogue. While replying back to comments on your posts is a nice way to start, receiving feedback and asking questions can help create loyalty on your page.
If you’re using loan officer pages, have your lenders also create open conversation on their pages. Asking questions like “what are the top five things you wish you knew before buying your last home?” can help you create more content while engaging your audience(s).
When you thank your customers – they appreciate you back. Not only are they more likely to engage with your content after you’ve started a conversation, but they’re also more likely to leave reviews and recommendations.
Pro Tip: Don’t just say it, share it! Sharing community involvement personalizes your brand. If your marketing director coaches little league, don’t be afraid to repost a picture of the team at a game. If a loan officer recently helped newlyweds buy a home, share it for other customers to see!
Run a Campaign
One of the best ways to increase customer engagement is to run a campaign. Whether it’s a photo contest or something simpler like a comment giveaway, this is another way to show appreciation while getting your community involved. If they submit a photo, you can feature them on your page at a later date. More importantly, a campaign tells your community that you want to hear from them.
Pro Tip: Localize your campaign to celebrate businesses and increase engagement. Take advantage of timely events (like the holidays) to ask the public how they are supporting local businesses! By offering an item like free tickets or a gift card, you’re likely to get even more engagement.
Reminder: Your financial brand leverages community every day at your local branches, so there’s no reason this can’t carry over to social. When you think of the online world as an additional way to converse with your customers, your relationships will continue to improve.
What’s your favorite way to connect with customers through social media? Tweet us using #SocialBank and let us know!
