We’ve had a lot of conversation lately about marketers and brands that collect Fans like baseball cards. Then what…?
Experienced marketers and brands know it’s really about quality over quantity.
Many of our clients at B Squared are very interested in gaining loyal Fans, or brand advocates.
So it’s our job to present ways in which we can convert “sometimes” Fans into brand activists as well as measure Brand Loyalty to prove our tactics were successful.
Part One of this series laid out the differences between hard and soft ROI.
What’s Your Reach?
One of the first things you want to look at is Potential Reach:
- You can determine your Potential Reach by taking the people who share your content and adding the numbers in their networks. This will equal your Potential Reach.
- Your goal should not just be capturing a Fan or Follower, but also enticing them to go further and interact with your brand with action (liking, commenting, sharing, retweeting, etc.).
As I mentioned in Part Two, we measure conversation for our clients.
When doing this you can start to note who your brand advocates are, and should flag these users in your Social Customer Relationship Management system (or social CRM).
For conversations or community participation:
- Figure out your average monthly reach across all of your social platforms
- Count the number of interactions and conversations taking place during the month; come up with your monthly average
- Find your ratio: For every 5 or 10 people you reach, how many conversions, subscribers, or conversations are you having each month?
- Keep up with this ratio monthly to gauge your success
Depending on your budget, or clients’ budget, you can utilize a site like “Net Promoter Score” to find out:
- Who in your audience is detracting from your message
- Who’s passive
- Which Fans of yours are actual promoters of the brand (meaning they’d not only buy your stuff but refer others to you)
Get To Know Your Audience
Additionally, if you send out surveys on a regular basis, ask your community if they are connected to you socially.
Cross-reference the number of people who say they are with all of your customers. By doing this you can start to paint a picture of who your loyal Fans may be.
Take it a step further, are your connected Fans:
- Past or current customers?
- Repeat customers?
- Referring business to your brand?
- Note all of these things in your social CRM – and better yet, come up with some sort of ranking system you can use internally.
I realize this is a lot of work, but this is an inside look at what most social media professionals do.
I challenge you to ask other social media “experts” if they go this in depth with clients. And if you’re already working with a social media agency, ask them to start doing these things for you.
Granted, not all clients care about Brand Loyalty – but shouldn’t they?
Loyal customers and brand advocates give you the coveted peer-to-peer recommendations – or earned media – that brands should consistently be seeking.
Did I miss a way in which you or your agency measures Brand Loyalty? Don’t leave us hanging (like Dude is below)! Please be sure to share the ways you measure Brand Loyalty or ROI.
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7 Comments. Leave new
A bit off topic, Brooke, but “social” nonetheless. 😉
Your About Me page is stunning! Shared it throughout cyberspace and clicked the little star to ‘favorite’. And I’m now following you on Twitter (I thought I already was but, you know … old age) *Grin*
Thanks for the introduction to “Net Promoter Score … every company’s customers can be divided into three categories: Promoters, Passives, and Detractors.” Sounds not only helpful but an intriguing assessment, as well.
I call the wonderful folks who share my content and my marketing messages, “Brand Ambassadors”. And just so you know …
My life if garbage without them!
Your pearls of ROI wisdom are unsurpassed. 🙂
Melanie Kissell @SoloMompreneur recently posted…Does Your Logo Measure Up?
Thank you so much for your kind words, Melanie! I love your stuff so it’s a huge compliment. 🙂
Let me know if you end up using Net Promoter Score. I’m always interested in other people’s viewpoints because I’m smart enough to know I’m not the smartest cookie in the basket!
I agree with you about our Brand Ambassadors! Where would we be without them?!
I can’t imagine anyone with a business not caring about brand loyalty! People who refer others to me are gold! And, those new customers usually turn out to be the best because they feel like they already know, trust, and like me! Fantastic post!
Thanks, Martha! I agree with you. Imagine if we all had clients referring business to us on a more regular basis. Isn’t that a DREAM?? If each client we got even turned around and gave us ONE more client we’d double our business.
I think measuring Brand Loyalty is so important to finding, cultivating and nurturing our most loyal customers (or potential customers).
Thanks for your input!
[…] You Numbers, Metrics, and ROI, OH MY! Part ONE Numbers, Metrics, and ROI, OH MY! Part TWO Numbers, Metrics, and ROI, OH MY! Part THREE Numbers, Metrics, and ROI, OH MY! Part […]
Always wanted to know what to call that little dude. His name is Dude! Cool.
So, brand activists. sounds a lot like what Guy Kawasaki called a customer ‘evangelist’, even before the internet became the center of so much of how we find products and services.
Whether it’s word of mouth or word of ‘mouse’ advertising… the very best we can come up with is this Earned Media. Where customers and fans become advocates and promoters.
“Let another’s lips praise you, and not your own” said the Dude that wrote proverbs. Was true more’n a couple thousand years ago and is true today.
What I’m taking from this post is not the principle (see, I already have a handle on that one little missy), but the PRACTICAL. You have really opened my eyes up to the potential of some of these companies and the numbers they can serve up for us, to keep our virtual fingers on the virtual pulse of our businesses’ marketing health. Keep up the good work, and
Keep Stepping!
Kurt
Kurt Frankenberg recently posted…Reaching Out: Blog Commenting, ON PURPOSE
Kurt,
Dude and I THANK YOU for continuing on this reading journey. And whether it’s the principal (I already knew you had that down!) or the practical that you’re walking away with … well, I’m just happy you’re walking away with VALUE! That’s all that matters to me … is that you’re walking away with SOMEthing you can use to be more practical, be better, calculate ROI, or whatever it is.
Thanks SO much for your insights, too!