Can you put a price tag on your followers? A recent lawsuit put social media in the spotlight after an employee took his Twitter followers with him when he left the company.  Obviously the company felt those customers had value.

How we engage customers is not just a trend, it’s a way of doing business. Social media has allowed us to engage customers in a way they’ve never done before. The catch is knowing for yourself the real value of your “friends” and “followers”. Some are fake and do not add value to you or your business. But how do you know the difference?

When new research looked into the profitability of how we engage customers, it paid off, literally. The findings revealed that engaged social media customers will spend nearly six-percent more than the ones that aren’t.

Researchers were able to study customers using the database of a large American wine retailer. The company began using social media in 2009. Since that time they have been able to engage customers with promotional material and advice on wine while really establishing themselves. The study was able to identify which customers were regularly participating with the wine company on social media.

They took this information and cross referenced it with the customer’s demographics and spending habits. The entire study was able to look at data for around 400 customers during a three-year period the company was using social media. Yet to give a good perspective on how well they engage customers, researchers also looked at similar customers before the winery went online and how many of them aren’t engaging the company.

They found that before the wine company joined Facebook and began sending tweets on Twitter, customers would visit the brick-and-mortar stores and usually spend the same amount of money on products. That all changed when the company began using social media to engage customers. The customers that take part in regular promotions and contents with the company go into their stores more often and now spend more money.

The ability to engage customers has created a genuine relationship between the company and the customer and it is paying off. Not only are the customers coming in more often but they are buying more wine and appear to be more loyal to that specific wine company.

It’s important to know your customers. Let us help you engage customers using a social media marketing plan that works for you. At Susan J. Campbell Copywriting Solutions we can identify which customers can provide added value to your company.