Businessman using multiple phones
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The power of social media is increasing every day. This is great for businesses but also poses new challenges. In an environment so saturated with messages and information, how do you get your customers to listen to and talk about you?

Using stories to market your business is a great way to start, but you still face the problem of how to get people to share your stories. Here are some tips for turning your satisfied customers into brand ambassadors who spread the good news about your company and help you build your business.

1. Get Feedback from Your Customers

Customers who are already using your product probably have something to say about it. Use receipts as feedback questionnaires in order to find out what they think. You can print surveys on the backs of receipts or use a tool like SurveyMonkey. Offer prize drawings for customers who participate and give away cool stuff as bait. This gives you extra content to buzz about and your customers extra incentive to offer their feedback. You can also make the survey response social by making participation shareable on social networks.

2. Get onto Foursquare

Customers love using Foursquare to share their shopping interests and locations. Get your business onto Foursquare, so they have the opportunity to check in and share it on their social networks. You can offer badges and promotions for people who check in the most often. Foursquare fosters a sense of community as well, which gives people the feeling of being a part of something bigger than just another consumer purchasing a product.

3. Make Purchasing Shareable

If your customers can check in on Foursquare to share their location with their networks, why not let them share their purchase information as well? Automate your ordering process so that after a purchase, it’s easy for customers to share their purchase information through Facebook, Twitter or email; this acts as a recommendation that can go a long way on social networks.

4. Ask for Reviews

In addition to getting feedback through surveys, find a way to ask your customers to review you on Amazon or other sites that post reviews. When people buy online, they rely on trusted-media recommendations more than any other kind of advertising. Try to get email addresses from your customers and ask for feedback on popular sites. Make it as easy as possible for them to leave reviews, and they’ll be more likely to do so. This kind of guerrilla marketing is one of the most powerful tools your business can use.

5. Get Mobile

If you aren’t already serious about going mobile, now is the time to do it. Not only are people checking their social networks on their phones, they are also doing more purchasing directly from tablets and other mobile devices. Use socially activated apps on your website that connect people with your Instagram, Twitter or Facebook account. Ask them to tweet or upload photos of themselves using your products — you can do giveaways and promotions based on who gets the most retweets or likes.

Giving your customers ways to share their opinions on your product and their excitement about it increases their likelihood of doing so. Help your customers spread the word about your product!

Talk to an Experienced Growth Hacker

Tweetables

  1. Offer prize drawings for customers who participate and give away cool stuff as bait.
  2. Offer badges and promotions for people who check in the most often.
  3. Make it easy for customers to share their purchase information.