Social media increases customer engagement with your brand

One way of increasing customer engagement is simply to encourage customers to spend time on your website. Social media and online communities are great for this. They can make your existing website stickier by increasing the length of time people spend on your site, and the frequency with which they return.

Online communities also allow you to create an emotional bond with your customers. You can give them a real insight into your brand or business, and by opening up to your customers you will encourage brand advocacy and loyalty.

Zappos is a great example of this. More than 200 employees, from the CEO down, write on Twitter every day, and the posts are read by tens of thousands of followers. The customer relationship is further strengthened by the use of sites like YouTube and Facebook, and social media tools such as an online community, ratings and reviews, and customer testimonials. Zappo's customer focus has been incredibly successful: in less than ten years it's grown to more than £1bn annual revenues, with 60% of sales coming from repeat buyers.

Still uncertain about how online communities can engage customers? Find out how Butlins engaged over 3,000 people in just 3 months.

Social media helps charities engage with their supporters

Online communities can also work wonders in the third sector by helping charities engage with their supporters. A not-for-profit community can bring together donors, members, clients, trustees, supporters, and volunteers in a place where they can engage with your cause. In this way, social media marketing will help you understand and monitor evolving issues and will allow members to collaborate, innovate and respond to needs and issues much more quickly.