During previous Twitter Chats we've talked often about all kinds of SEO and marketing lead generation issues, conversion and sales improvement tricks. But today we are going to talk about something different — The Force that drives your customers to become brand ambassadors and help you on every step of sales cycle.

How do you find the most loyal users? How do you engage them to become your ambassadors and choose the light side of the Force? How do you retain your credibility? Find all the answers in recap of our recent Twitter Chat with Jon Ferrara (@Jon_Ferrara), CEO of Nimble and Founder of Gold Mine, customer relationship management services.

And may The Force be with you!

Q 1. Reaching out to fans: How can you identify your most loyal clients online?

The journey to the light side starts from loyalty. Most loyal customers are already on your side, so they more likely will become your brand ambassadors. So, how do you identify them in a sea of hundreds and thousands of your customers?

People satisfied with your product and service want to share their good experience with others — find ones who is spreading the word about you or leave a nice comments about your work. “It's become easier with the explosion of social media. Usually your biggest fans are the ones that are interacting with you” — Direct Online Mktg ‏@directom.

But social media monitoring is not enough — use all possible channels for identifying most satisfied customers. Most loyal users also the ones who “amplify your content & message without prompting” Tom Whatley ‏@TheTomWhatley. Also ones who are engaged by email marketing efforts. Find them and bring them all together to the “fan club.”

Well, it’s easy to find ones who already communicate with you, but loyal customers are not just the ones who like social media, but those who vote for you with their wallet.

Generally speaking, pay attention to every user’s action that brought you a favor; every small interaction can lead to the bigger one and bring mutual profit.

And of course don’t just sit and wait until a flurry of thanks overwhelm you — earn the right to be mentioned and praised.

Q 2. Motivation: How can you motivate your clients who like you but don't advocate much?

What was the reason your users chose you in a first place? Of course it’s a product or service you offer. The biggest motivation to share new good experience for ones who already like you will be your new achievement. “Like Steve Martin said, "Be so good, they can't ignore you!” — Kathleen Garvin ‏@KGarvSEO.

Product and customer service are equally important.

The biggest motivation for all of us — to be heard, be special and have an opportunity to share voice. Doesn’t sound like a marketing to me — more like just a simple human communication. The thing is — connection is just the one thing that matters. “Personally reaching out makes a big difference too — it matters if someone actually connects with you” — Reva Minkoff ‏@revaminkoff.

Every newsworthy event, new step in product development is good not just for PR, but also for client engagement. “Give them exclusive resources & incentives like content, press opps, social shoutouts, etc. Engage (two-way), reward, repeat” — Leah Rose Spector ‏@leahspector.

Be grateful and show your community members that they are valuable not just because of using your product, but because of their job, which contribute to the development of community.

As we said — no marketing, just a human relationships. No trick needed if you want somebody to do something for you — sometimes asking is enough.

Leah Rose Spector ‏@leahspector recommends "one of the best Ted Talks she's even seen: "The Art of Asking".

But remember that nobody likes to be pushed.

Q 3. Pitfalls: What mistakes could a brand make that would ruin consumer engagement?

Don't take your customer's trust and respect for granted; otherwise your friends may turn to enemies! What are the worst mistakes which will ruin your relationship with clients?

Ignore a complain & positive

Q 4. Toolkit: Which tools are you currently using to increase consumer engagement and build a strong network around your brand?

Traditional toolkit time! Use these tools for identifying and tracking most loyal users. We always say that no tool can replace a human brain, and for social media engagement, this fits perfectly.

Screen Shot 2015-04-20 at 3.37.50 PM

Q 5. Best practice: Which online marketing channel proved to be most effective for you in engaging with your clients and why?

Totally agree with Colt Sebastian Taylor — priority channels will vary for different businesses. Therefore, we will not talk about personal experiences of individual companies, and focus on characteristics of certain channels.

Social media (especially Twitter) is number one in our list — because it’s “quick, easily accessible, & succinct” — ThinkSEM ‏@ThinkSEM.

If you are B2B, take a closer look at LinkedIn. Upgrade your page and be proactive in LinkedIn groups; take advantage of advertising.

Don’t forget that personal approach is a cornerstone for relationship building — what can be more personal than e-mail?

Use one or the other channel, depending on your goals.

Engagement process doesn't stop then you close your laptop — offline communication is just as valuable as online discussion.

Special thanks to the following participants:

@revaminkoff ‏@sergio_redondo ‏@portentint ‏@TheTomWhatley ‏@propecta ‏@Michele_Welch ‏@Ross_Quintana ‏@Casieg ‏@ECWseo ‏@ThinkSEM ‏@AdamDince ‏@anneke_aswegen ‏@Vertical_John ‏@EricCozart ‏@CarlaChich ‏@MediumBlueSEM ‏@gShiftLabs.

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Elena TerentevaElena Terenteva, Product Marketing Manager at SEMrush. Elena has eight years public relations and journalism experience, working as a broadcasting journalist, PR/Content manager for IT and finance companies. Bookworm, poker player, good swimmer.
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