But because it costs 5 times more to get new customers than it does to keep an existing one.
There are hundreds of ways you can build brand and customer loyalty - like sending out gifts to high value customers and clients, creating a rewards system, or simply sending them a personal message about how much you value their business.
However - if you’re looking for a channel that lets you celebrate your most-prized customers like no other can…
Look no further than Instagram.
But before we get into the 8 ways you can build brand and customer loyalty on Instagram, a quick explanation:
Brand Loyalty vs. Customer Loyalty
There’s a key difference between brand and customer loyalty:
Customer loyalty is based on pricing.
They’ll continue returning to you as long as you keep offering the best prices for them.
Brand loyalty is non-pricing related loyalty.
They perceive your brand is being better than competitors, and they’re likely to choose you every time regardless of price.
Like everything else in business, the easy way (customer loyalty and changing pricing) is fickle. You can only reduce your prices so far, and it’s only a matter of time before someone undercuts you.
Brand loyalty, on the other hand, can make you stand out for decades. Take Nike, BMW, Apple, Gucci…
But generating brand loyalty takes more effort and investment - luckily, we’ve got some tips you to do just that:
8 Steps to Establish Brand and Customer Loyalty on Instagram
Find your brand voice and story
When it comes to Instagram, your brand voice and story have two key elements:
A value proposition based on who you are and who you’re for
Here is how a coffee shop Typehype has styled its Instagram gallery. It has embraced the combination of professional photos, minimalist typography, and coffee to stand out in its followers’ feed.
Integrating customer service into your business profile can help you earn brand and customer loyalty as well. Some brands even create separate Instagram profiles to deliver immediate customer support. Others add an “Email” or “Contact” button under their Instagram handle so that users can easily connect with you at any time.
Excellent customer service is all about timely replies, helpful advice on the product or service, and relevant referring to a knowledge base.
Air your brand values
This might seem risky, but your best customers are always going to be the ones that share your values.
Here’s how Patagonia made their stance on fossil fuels known:
Again, this might be daunting - but remember that any potential new customers you lose would be heavily outweighed by the loyalty of customers you keep.
Your customers want to get to know you, so make your posts personal. Introduce your team by going behind-the-scenes, and dump the polish and replace it with what’s real.
Influencers - especially those that are SMEs in their field - are sources of trust. So when they choose you, their audience knows that you must be the real deal.
Sun Peaks, a ski resort in British Columbia, formed a partnership with a top Canadian adventure photographer and Instagram influencer Callum Snape (@CalSnape). The result was dozens of incredible photos of this resort posted in front of a target audience - the influencer’s Instagram community.
Want to build brand and customer loyalty on Instagram?
Normally, building brand and customer loyalty on Instagram is hard.
You might be wrestling to get your product tagging, struggling to find user-generated content, or having no idea if your hashtag campaign is working at all.
But normally, people aren’t using Sked Social.
With Sked, you can easily schedule your posts with product tagging, do a simple search to find UGC, and get individual hashtag success metrics.
Collaborate effortlessly, save time and spend less
Why settle for a lackluster social media management tool when you could be using Sked Social? With unlimited collaborator access, streamlined approvals and advanced auto-post technology that lets you schedule to all major platforms, Sked Social offers everything you need.
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