I have seen a lot of dive shops characterize online shoppers as only being worried about getting the cheapest price. I think they miss that a lot of those buying online often pay a bit more and they do so out of loyalty, that is, Social Loyalty. So what is Social Loyalty? How do get it? How do you increase it?
First, let's discuss what Social Loyalty isn't. It has nothing to do with you posting tons of specials on Facebook or your forum of choice. Too many dive businesses think that they've mastered Social Media because they have a Facebook page with over a hundred or a thousand followers. Let's be clear, when it comes to Google, Facebook has ADD. Posting these on a personal blog or a forum will be far more effective in the long run but even then, lot's of you posting anywhere will not garner much Social Loyalty.
Social Loyalty is created by getting others to talk about their positive interactions with you and your business. The more people talk about you, the more Social Loyalty you will enjoy. People don't trust commercial reviews nearly as much as they trust unsolicited testimonials from their cyber neighbors. The more they hear a Social Buzz about a product, a service or even a business, the more likely they are to patronize them. There are always going to be a few people dedicated to finding the lowest price, but loyalty and Social Loyalty in specific will be a far more driving factor when it comes to making the purchase.
Fortunately, Social Loyalty is not accidental. There are specific steps you can take to create and increase it. They are not that hard, and they actually require you to get others to do most of the work. Think of it as a lever, where a little time and energy will be amplified and sometimes beyond your imagination. Here are a few steps to take and hopefully others will expound upon these and offer their own hints.
Create an online identity. If you don't have a website, get one. It doesn't have to be fancy, but it should have pictures of all your staff, your place of business and an online gallery. Once that is in place, you should have a Facebook presence but more importantly, you need to get on the blogs and forums that compromise our diving community. Think about it. When was the last time you heard someone say "I Facebooked something..." Google and other search engines are your real friends here. Be sure to spend most of your time getting noticed by the search engines and simply use Facebook to merely echo that. Yeah, I get that a lot of "Social Media Experts" are all about getting bazillions of followers on Facebook and Twitter, but Google hates them and goes out of it's way to avoid promoting content on them.
Once you have your identity, recruit your online army. Where can you find them? They're standing right in front of you already. They are the ones buying that Scuba widget or taking a class. Beg, cajole or bribe them into talking about you somewhere on the interwebs. Steer them towards the blogs and the forums, but take what you can get. Take a picture of them in your class or in that full set of gear they just bought and put that into your online gallery. Now go link that picture onto a forum or two. Send your customer that link, ask them to comment and watch the magic happen. Be sure to thank them for their comments.
That's not enough. You're on the community, you're loading up the community with your customers so what more could you do? Be an integral part of the community. Play, answer questions and find out what communities your customers belong to. When was the last time you asked a prospective customer what communities they belonged to? Did you ask them their user name? Did you befriend them on that community? Most people use the same nickname on all the forums they belong to. So, while you're asking for their emails, ask them for their user name as well. This tells a prospective customer that you "get them". There has been a lot of backlash by a few shops against these online communities. Show them that you are a part of it and you'll have instantly generated some Social Loyalty points. Ask them to talk about you on the forums, and that potential client has a far better chance of becoming a loyal client.
If you remember at the beginning, I mentioned that people trusted unsolicited testimonials over commercial ones. That's actually a misrepresentation. People have no idea of what is and isn't unsolicited. A comment by Joe Cyber Diver will almost always be seen as unsolicited. That's OK, so don't be afraid to ask.
You can also follow this discussion here: Social Loyalty: your key to growth and success | LinkedIn
First, let's discuss what Social Loyalty isn't. It has nothing to do with you posting tons of specials on Facebook or your forum of choice. Too many dive businesses think that they've mastered Social Media because they have a Facebook page with over a hundred or a thousand followers. Let's be clear, when it comes to Google, Facebook has ADD. Posting these on a personal blog or a forum will be far more effective in the long run but even then, lot's of you posting anywhere will not garner much Social Loyalty.
Social Loyalty is created by getting others to talk about their positive interactions with you and your business. The more people talk about you, the more Social Loyalty you will enjoy. People don't trust commercial reviews nearly as much as they trust unsolicited testimonials from their cyber neighbors. The more they hear a Social Buzz about a product, a service or even a business, the more likely they are to patronize them. There are always going to be a few people dedicated to finding the lowest price, but loyalty and Social Loyalty in specific will be a far more driving factor when it comes to making the purchase.
Fortunately, Social Loyalty is not accidental. There are specific steps you can take to create and increase it. They are not that hard, and they actually require you to get others to do most of the work. Think of it as a lever, where a little time and energy will be amplified and sometimes beyond your imagination. Here are a few steps to take and hopefully others will expound upon these and offer their own hints.
Create an online identity. If you don't have a website, get one. It doesn't have to be fancy, but it should have pictures of all your staff, your place of business and an online gallery. Once that is in place, you should have a Facebook presence but more importantly, you need to get on the blogs and forums that compromise our diving community. Think about it. When was the last time you heard someone say "I Facebooked something..." Google and other search engines are your real friends here. Be sure to spend most of your time getting noticed by the search engines and simply use Facebook to merely echo that. Yeah, I get that a lot of "Social Media Experts" are all about getting bazillions of followers on Facebook and Twitter, but Google hates them and goes out of it's way to avoid promoting content on them.
Once you have your identity, recruit your online army. Where can you find them? They're standing right in front of you already. They are the ones buying that Scuba widget or taking a class. Beg, cajole or bribe them into talking about you somewhere on the interwebs. Steer them towards the blogs and the forums, but take what you can get. Take a picture of them in your class or in that full set of gear they just bought and put that into your online gallery. Now go link that picture onto a forum or two. Send your customer that link, ask them to comment and watch the magic happen. Be sure to thank them for their comments.
That's not enough. You're on the community, you're loading up the community with your customers so what more could you do? Be an integral part of the community. Play, answer questions and find out what communities your customers belong to. When was the last time you asked a prospective customer what communities they belonged to? Did you ask them their user name? Did you befriend them on that community? Most people use the same nickname on all the forums they belong to. So, while you're asking for their emails, ask them for their user name as well. This tells a prospective customer that you "get them". There has been a lot of backlash by a few shops against these online communities. Show them that you are a part of it and you'll have instantly generated some Social Loyalty points. Ask them to talk about you on the forums, and that potential client has a far better chance of becoming a loyal client.
If you remember at the beginning, I mentioned that people trusted unsolicited testimonials over commercial ones. That's actually a misrepresentation. People have no idea of what is and isn't unsolicited. A comment by Joe Cyber Diver will almost always be seen as unsolicited. That's OK, so don't be afraid to ask.
You can also follow this discussion here: Social Loyalty: your key to growth and success | LinkedIn
Last edited:
