by Matt Weik
When you grab your phone or hop on your tablet, what is one of the first things you do? It’s probably open up the apps to your social media, right? You scroll through your social media feeds, make a few comments, leave a few likes, maybe make a post yourself, and overall participate in social engagement on the various platforms. I’m sure you have heard the saying, “Fish where the fish are.” Yet, there are some supplement brands out there that just don’t seem to understand this very simple concept.
Why is it that some supplement brands are so stuck in their ways that they aren’t leveraging social media and social engagement? If you look at the brands that are doing extremely well, they have an extremely powerful social presence and influence within the fitness and supplement industries.
That said, if you look at the brands that are dying and on the brink of disappearing forever, they’re nowhere to be seen on social media, there is no social engagement between them and their customers, and maybe (if they’re lucky) they’re posting once a week – that’s assuming they even have a social media account for the brand.
In today’s age, supplement brands need to use every single advantage they have to get in front of their customers and audience. If they’re not leveraging social engagement to build their authority and brand loyalty, the end may be near for them.
Social Engagement Checks ALL the Boxes
As a consumer, what is the one thing you want to happen when you support a supplement brand? You want to feel a sense of belonging like you’re part of a family or community, right? There are several brands out there who “get it” and are using this to their advantage where their customers are literally going out there on social media and doing all of the marketing for them (and basically for free).
These individuals are posting product shots, wearing the brand swag, and telling all of their friends and gym buddies that they’ve got to try this new brand or product they’re using. Know what’s even better, that sounds a lot better coming from a happy customer than it ever does coming from the brand itself. It’s authentic. It’s without bias. Why would supplement brands NOT want this to take place?
Free Advertising
Let’s think about this for a minute. Supplement brands could spend thousands of dollars every single month on things like Facebook ads, Instagram ads, and YouTube ads. Or, they would create a community where customers are posting images with product placement, explaining how they use certain products, recommending people try various new products, and getting the supplement brand out in front of eyeballs they may never be able to reach. It makes sense, no?
Social engagement is incredibly important these days. If a brand has a social media account and doesn’t use it, there may not be any hope for that brand if they don’t understand its true power.
What this brand is ultimately saying is that they don’t value what the platform has to offer and are clueless to the fact that they have a place where they can post and advertise their brands FOR FREE by simply making a post – it’s that simple and easy.
Post Announcements
Through social engagement, supplement brands can tell their audience about sales, promotions, new product launches, and just about anything else they want their audience and customers to know. And what did it cost them? Not even a penny, only the time it took to type out a quick post and add a link or an image to it.
Convert Sales and Stay Fresh in a Customers Mind
Something else that supplement brands need to think about is how to leverage social engagement to convert sales or at least grow their website traffic and influence. That is something of importance, right? Absolutely.
Each post that supplement brands make should have some sort of call to action (CTA). This can be for them to check out their YouTube channel, head over to their website to read a blog post, visit their site to look at a new product launch, whatever they want essentially. This can help convert sales and keep a supplement brand in the heads of their audience.
It’s the simple saying, “Out of sight, out of mind” that kills many supplement brands (especially those who think they are “legacy brands” and that their name still means something in the industry – news flash… it doesn’t).
Enhance Customer Experience
One of the most underutilized things supplement brands are missing the boat on is the overall customer experience. If you make the customer or audience feel special and make them feel like a million bucks, you’re building brand loyalty.
How many times have you posted a comment on a supplement brand’s social media page and realized a week has gone by and the brand never commented back, let alone even liked the comment you took the time to leave? How did that make you feel? Probably pretty bad and made you wonder if the brand actually even cares that you purchased their product or took the time to engage with them.
Now imagine if you posted that same comment mentioning how great the new flavor they launched was and they commented back to you saying how appreciative they were that you tried the product and enjoyed it and love the feedback you provided them with. How would that make you feel? Pretty special, right?
It’s paying close attention to detail and leveraging social engagement that can win over new customers and help create a loyal following. There are plenty of supplement brands out there who sell direct to consumers from their website and built their brand off of their social media platforms to create interest and buzz. How did they build such a following so quickly? Through engaging with their customers, building a community, and making everyone feel like the brand appreciates their business and wants to help their customers reach their goals.
Make Social Media a Priority
As Arnold Schwarzenegger says in the movie Terminator, “Come with me if you want to live.” If you want your business to succeed and be successful, you need to take the things said in this article to heart.
Honestly, it’s not hard to create a piece of copy you want to post on social media, add an image or supply a link, hit post, and then wait for people to start commenting. From there, it’s all about social engagement and interacting with the audience. If you do nothing, don’t expect people to come back. And when that happens, people spend their money elsewhere and the brand becomes forgotten. Again, it’s “Out of sight, out of mind.”
If you don’t make social media a priority and focus on leveraging social engagement, you are absolutely missing the boat. And this can go for just about any industry, not just the supplement industry like the example used in this article.