Three Ways to Engage with Brand Enthusiasts

Some people are die-hard sports fans, and some people are die-hard brand fans. There are Pepsi people and there are Coke people, Android people and iPhone people.

But where there are big brand enthusiasts, there are also small brand enthusiasts. We love our favorite hole in the wall restaurant, or the coffee house that knows our usual order or the little boutique that always has our size and style.

This is where smaller brands are missing out– your customers are loyal and enthusiastic, so why limit their means of expression? The following companies have created an interactive digital environment to showcase their brands and connect with new and existing customers. Here are some tips on how to generate some buzz for your business by engaging with your most loyal customers.

Be Accessible: Cheesies

Chessies proves it can only take one social media channel to make an impact. The famous Chicago grilled cheese restaurant has two locations, but the Cheesie’s food truck makes it accessible to customers all over the city.

Since there are two ways to experience Cheesies, at the restaurant and bar or the food truck, there are two Twitter accounts. Brand enthusiasts can follow the Cheesie’s truck on Twitter to find out where the truck is each day and learn about the latest promotions. The restaurant Twitter handle announces giveaways and drink specials to bring customers in.

Lesson: Keep customers in the loop with quick bursts from your most popular social channel. Rather than make them dig for information about you, be providing it on a platform they’re already perusing.

Blog, Blog and Blog: So Worth Loving

So Worth Loving’s digital presence is what all retail brands strive to be – it pushes their brand story forward while constantly re-engaging customers and fans with fun content that keeps them top of mind. SWL proves that it’s not just about having content that showcases your products, but also about proving your credibility as a leading creative thinker in your industry.

Picking up what we’re laying down, but not sure what you would even write about? If you’re a clothing retailer, why not take a page out of So Worth Loving’s book and write about fashion tips and trends? Restaurant? How about drink or appetizer recipes? Gyms would do well to provide diet or workout tips and theaters can review new movies and plays.

Lesson: Blogs are a great way to showcase your knowledge and personality of your overall industry, creating a lifestyle around your brand.

Be Visual: Jawbreaking

You didn’t really think you were going to land on a SparkReel blog post without hearing about the importance of visual engagement, did you? Ladies and gents, we only preach it because we know how effective it is. And more importantly, how effective it is in an especially saturated space, with thousands of brands trying to send thousands of messages over dozens of different channels.

If you’ve got a visual brand, like Jawbreaking, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be touting that to the masses on a platform that’s as quick and engaging as Instagram..

Jawbreaking connects the right pool of customers with the most fitting social media channel. Their Instagram is by far the most successful of their social media accounts, as they post photos of the newest styles, new sale items and current promotions. Jawbreaking often posts a picture with the caption saying, “Tag a friend,” this way followers are commenting and liking the picture, as well as inviting new friends to check out the products.

Lesson: Photos and videos are shared over 10x more than just text updates alone, and everything you need to jump in the game is already in your pocket (hey, iPhone).

Looking for more examples of smaller brands knocking user generated content campaigns out of the park? Don’t miss our free UGC guide for small businesses!