Telling Your Story Using Direct Marketing & Social Media

If you want loyal customers, you have to connect with them. You can’t simply distribute products with a smile and expect people to be impressed. Combining direct marketing and social media is a great way to share your story with your customers.

The first step is to identify the story you want to tell. What will resonate with your customers? How you got started? Source your products? Protect the environment? Envision the future? Or, a combination of all? Your story is unique and hard to replicate. Keep it simple and true. While there are plenty of companies who create fictitious back stories, it is a very risky tactic. The same customers who love you today will turn against you quickly if they feel betrayed. Choose a story that is developing. You’ll want to add adventures to keep your customers interested.

Once you’ve outlined your story, start sharing it. Use every channel to continue the saga. Ironically, the same technology that allows us to communicate in a flash isolates us from human contact. Make every effort to be personable and friendly. Your customers are thirsting for it.

When you start thinking of your marketing as a sharing experience instead of revenue generator, your customers become more involved. Develop a program that invites people into your corporate family so they feel like they are an active participant. Since your customers are your best asset, they should be treated as such.

Direct marketing is a great way to introduce your business to new people and continue your relationship with others. There is something about the ability to curl up with a catalog and get absorbed in another world. You can’t replicate it with any electronic device.

Letters and postcards are personal. They are great for keeping in touch with customers between catalog mailings. Send them to tell about new adventures finding cool products. Keep the story flowing with every mail drop.

Social media moves customer communication to a new level. It is interactive. It doesn’t replace direct marketing, it enhances it. Use it to get to know your customers on a personal level. And, let them get to know you. Share personal experiences when you chat online. Was there a great restaurant on your last buying trip? Talk about it. Or, did you love the last city you visited? Share the adventure. There is only one rule: Be positive and thoughtful. Don’t bore your followers with the mundane or depress them with negativity.

When you use direct marketing and social media to tell your story, your customers become involved in your business. This translates into increased loyalty, sales, and profitability. What’s your story and how are you sharing it?