Creating a positive user feedback loop
Originally appeared on the SocialProvidence blog
If a user feels passionate enough about your product to post on social media about a positive experience, you have received the highest compliment and the ideal social engagement. At this point, many marketers will pat themselves on the back and move on. This is a missed opportunity. When an individual willingly writes a testimonial about your product, the review can increase other users' brand loyalty.
All consumers exist on a brand loyalty scale. Though the majority of people fall in the bottom of the pyramid, you should work on strengthening relationships with your active users.
Brand advocates are often the reason other users become interested in your product. Through these testimonials, they help users with lower brand loyalty see the positives of your product. That in turn increases the user loyalty, elevating them to brand advocate. Then the cycle repeats!
The more you can foster this feedback loop, the more engaging your social media presence will be and the more brand advocates you will acquire.
There are a few steps you can take to help foster this positive user feedback loop:
Closely monitor your pages
In recent years, Facebook has revamped its pages features. Now when Facebook fans write on your page's wall, these comments are stored in a narrow "Posts to Page" box on the left-hand side of your page. These posts do not come up in your fans' newsfeeds and are easily overlooked by brands and especially by fans. Keep a close eye on your Facebook page, routinely checking for fans' posts.
Engage with your users
If a fan is making the effort to post on your page, it is because they feel strongly about your product and have made a connection to your brand. In order to strengthen this relationship, you should match their effort by replying with thanks.
Ask to share their story
A positive testimonial from one user can be the deciding factor for someone else. Ask if you could share their story with others via social media.
Share this content with the rest of your follower base
Overlay the text on an image and post with a "thank you" to the writer. Highlight a particularly positive quote in a graphic. Or just repost the story.
Regardless of how you post it, sharing this rich user-generated content will help increase brand loyalty among your user base.