One thing we like to stress to the clients we work with, is the importance of cultivating brand loyalty.
Consumers are spending more and more time on the social web, and are becoming increasingly savvy over which brands are truly listening, engaging, and paying attention to their needs. Smart brands will recognize their consumers loyalty, encourage it, and ultimately reward it.
This is the new marketing value of Social Media.
People can now passionately share their love for a particular brand. Take the following “commercial” a fan of Trader Joe’s made.
Doing some quick browsing, it appears the fans do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to the online presence for Trader Joe’s.
There is a Trader Joes Fan Fan Page. With over 200,00 fans, people share recipes, deals, coupons, contests, and their overall love for Trader Joe’s. There is even a web site: http://www.traderjoesfan.com. Both of which are not affiliated with the official Trader Joe’s Facebook Page (which is pretty much dormant) or website.
There is also a Twitter account and blog that appears to be managed by a loyal fan.
Trader Joe’s would be wise to incorporate the fan’s content into their existing marketing efforts. At the minimum, they can provide a micro site or landing page highlighting their community. They have incredibly loyal customers who literally act as ambassadors for the company. Such equity doesn’t come over night, and what happens if it goes away?
The takeaway: Reward your ambassador’s brand loyalty. Welcome them to play in your space. It will pay off in full and elevate your presence both online and off.
