Tips for mirroring social media experiences in your physical store

Today’s consumers demand consistent services and branding offline and online. This means that as a retailer, your must continuously try bringing the gap between in-store and social media experiences.

Regardless of your business size, you need to employ some strategies and tactics in order to create an omnichannel customer experiences.

But what are these strategies and tactics? And how can they help you build more brand awareness and enhance customer loyalty? Let’s explore this interesting subject together.   

Effective tactics for matching social media & in-store experiences

• Create seamless & fun experiences

You need to think of fun, engaging and challenging ways to draw your customers from your social media channels and into your stores. There are many ways you can do this and scavenger hunts is on the top of that list. Furthermore, since people usually buy from companies they like, you need to make sure that your ideas are innovative, memorable and original.

See Also: How to Get More Out of Customer Data

• Replicate experiences

If you think that creating a separate personality on social media than in-store is a good idea, think again! In fact, your online and offline experiences should be the same. Why? 1) So loyal patrons to better relate to and engage with your brand. 2) To help new customers who learn about you through social media recognize you when they walk into your location(s).

• Educate in-store employees

Your store employees might not always be aware of what you are representing online. This is why you need to make sure that all your employees are on one page whether you are outsourcing social media management or doing it in-house. Educating your employees about your social media experiences and presence will help enhance your customers’ experience.

• Bring user-generated content

To remind your customers of your online presence, it is a good idea to add some tablets or screens in your stores. This will encourage real-life reviews and in-person buying decisions.

• Use incentives to drive cross-traffic

To create and enhance brand loyalty, it is essential to send traffic from your social media pages to your storefront. Use your social media pages to advertise an exclusive in-store special. This will encourage customers to follow your pages and also visit your stores to take advantage of the deals you are offering.

• Create original social content

Your social media content needs to be engaging and compelling enough to drive your customers to see it and share it with family and friends. Moroever, the content needs to be an extension of your in-store experience. Try to think of all your marketing efforts, both online and offline, as a big puzzle; every piece should complement the other.

• Provide high end customer service

Customer service is one of the most important aspects of combining your social media presence with your in-store experience. If you provide customers with an awesome social media experience but then you fail to match it at your store, your online presence will backfire. Your brand needs to be consistent online and offline.

See Also: Why Customer Experience Matters for Your Business

• Listen to customer feedback

Take the time to gather customer feedback and use it to help your brand persona to your stores or vice versa. Pick a group of your top notch customers and interview them. Incentivize them with something of value to them. Then take that feedback and use it to understand their concerns and solve their problems.

• Personify your brand online

Humans are social beings. They love interactions and relationships much more than they love robotics and automation. Spend some time building relationships with businesses and influencers. Use simple, relatable language across your social media accounts and build a personality for your brand.

• Be consistent

People appreciate consistency. Actually, consistency is key when mirroring your social media experiences and at your physical store. This is why you should use the same messages online and offline to build trust and confidence.

It’s your turn to share with us your thoughts and insights on this topic. We look forward to hearing from you in our comment section below. 

The post How to Bridge Gaps Between In-Store & Social Media Experiences appeared first on The Global Now.