3 Ways Social is Creating a New Customer Experience
Based on the latest industry insights and leading trends, we explore how social media is helping to achieve return on investment goals (ROI), drive innovation and create loyal communities of brand advocates.
With brick-and-mortar marketing channels completely closed or largely unavailable, brands rely on their virtual platforms to build brand awareness, launch their products and services, and interact with customers.
Creating conversations and fostering a sense of community through storytelling is vital to develop loyal consumer-brand engagements. Unsurprisingly then, social provides the perfect platform to generate this much-needed customer experience, 2.0.
Enter a new customer experience — with social at its very core.
What Social Will Do for Brands in 2021
Here, we take a snapshot look at the 3 key ways social will enable brands to navigate through the current disruption to create industry disruption of its very own.
- Reach Return on Investment (ROI) Goals
Based on its survey of 11,189 marketers, social media management platform, Hootsuite, has released its latest report on the social media trends tipped to lead brand engagement and growth in 2021. Using social to achieve short-term ROI goals is number one.
To maintain their presence during the pandemic, brands are focusing on recovery, restabilisation and customer retention. In fact, 73% of marketers ranked customer acquisition as their top priority for social in 2021, Hootsuite’s industry report reveals.
However, brands need to do more than use social on the short-term ROI scene to remain memorable, relevant and create longevity. Idea-generation and strategies need to revolve around redesigning their overall digital experience to reflect evolving consumer demands and develop ongoing relationships.
Here’s how brands can turn short-term stints into long-term loyalty:
- Encourage discovery through playful, joyful and immersive experiences.
- Offer new and exciting entertainment opportunities.
- Build genuine connections through online communities.
- Conscious Conversations and Contributions
When it comes to social, 68% of those asked feel brands don’t share interesting content, Hootsuite finds. That’s a lot of your potential target audience.
Fail to captivate these consumers and you’re left with a huge chunk of your optimum buyers feeling disengaged and actively searching elsewhere — with a competitor only too happy for them to stumble upon their content.
And those consumers will happily stay, connect and engage if their content:
- Adds to a conversation they want to hear;
- Focuses on sensitive and timely social listening;
- And when the time is right, prioritises relevant, lighthearted and fun messaging.
- Understand Your Audiences
When brand leaders successfully communicate their purpose, it develops resilient and robust consumer ties. A brand’s socially-conscious nature particularly resonates with millennial and Gen Z consumers who will shop around to find those that align with their values.
In 2021, 60% of millennials and Gen Z plan on spending more money with businesses that take care of the employees during the pandemic.
Tapping into new markets and understanding data is also vital. Latest trend insights for 2021 show that the baby boomer generation has been largely ignored to date in social campaigns. And that this year signals a tipping point.
With 70% of internet users aged 55-64 buying something online in the last month, the demographic’s social usage only continues to grow. Brands cannot ignore this and should delve into data based on their consumer interests to capture their needs.
Find Out More
For more tips and to learn how your social activities can grow your brand in 2021, contact us today.
