The post 3 Wrong Approaches to Relationship Marketing and How to Get It Right appeared first on Ambassador.

In March 2014, researchers found that an average of 67.91% of online shoppers abandon their carts.

While ecommerce sites will never enjoy zero abandonment, there are tricks marketers can employ to encourage more shoppers to complete their purchases. Part of lowering the abandonment rate is figuring out exactly where in the shopping process people are leaving; it is not always during the actual checkout process. To get the most from your consumers, be certain to adhere to these online shopping best practices.

Transparent Pricing

Many online merchants try to hide pricing from shoppers. One way this is often done is requiring a shopper to add a product to their cart in order to see the price. Not only is this an annoyance to the visitor, it will lead to higher cart abandonment rates.

Clearly Indicate Availability

Another inconvenience to shoppers is learning that a product is out of stock when trying to checkout. Do not risk having the shopper abandoning their entire cart over one or two items being out of stock. Backordering is fine, but let them know that it will be back ordered — along with an expected arrival date — before they put it in their cart.

Shorten the Checkout Process

There is a big push towards one-page checkout. The sooner you implement one-page checkout on your own ecommerce store, the better. This simple trick alone can significantly lower your cart abandonment rate. If you absolutely must deploy a multi-page checkout, it should be no longer than three pages. Whether it is one-page or five, never make the customer enter correct details twice. Abandonment will go up if a shopper has to re-enter all of their details because one field did not pass validation. Going even further, use logins and cookies to pre-fill as much data as possible.

The Home Depot doesn’t utilize a 1-page checkout process, however they make sure to display where in the checkout process the user is, and how far they have until they are finished.

Keep it Clean and Simple

Do not overwhelm your customers with product details. Sure, make them available, and provide enough information to encourage a sale, but use a tabbed container to hide details most consumers will not care about, like technical specifications. This will keep the page design clean while still allowing those who want to see the details to do so.

Use tabs on your product detail pages to hide technical information.

Enable Different Payment Methods

There is no sound business reason for not accepting payment through third party providers like PayPal and other digital wallets. Make it as easy as possible for customers to pay you using the method they prefer. Once enabled, feature these payment methods early in the shopping process so that customers know they can pay using them. Allow users to save preferred methods of payment for an even more seamless process the next time around.

Make sure to let your visitors know early on what types of payment methods you accept.

Use Remarketing

Remarketing can be done both on the web and by email. Remarketing by email is a great way of getting shoppers back to your site. Try different ways for wooing them back, such as emailing discounts or coupon codes. Remarketing on the web will place your ads in front of shoppers as they surf other sites. While they may not have been ready to purchase when they abandoned their cart, remarketing is a great way to stay top of mind. Since the user has already been introduced to your brand, your remarketing ads are more likely to catch their attention.

Instill Trust

A shopper that does not trust your site will not make a purchase. This is doubly true in an era of increasing theft of credit card details. If employing cookies, be sure to have a page explaining exactly what they do. Also have a page explaining your sites security features for those weary of providing their credit card details. Publish a clear and easy-to-understand privacy policy that explains to customers exactly what you will do with their private information and how you will protect it. Make sure to use an SSL certificate from a reputable source like verisign, and include a seal on your site to show that your data is encrypted. Customers are more at ease when seeing the logos of recognized brands, so if you are selling the products of these brands, put the customer at ease by using logos where appropriate.

Optimize

It is true that changing the color of a button or even moving it can increase sales and decrease abandonment rate. Use an A/B testing tool like Optimizely to A/B test everything on your site. Start with broad tests and narrow them to be more specific as you gather insights.

Speed it Up

Pageload speed not only affects your placement in Google, it can also drive away shoppers. Milliseconds matter. Do everything you can to speed up your site. You can keep an eye on page load times from inside Google Analytics in Content > Side Speed.

While the above tricks will not drop your cart abandonment rate to zero, implementing them should improve your overall metrics. Every ecommerce site deals with cart abandonment; the best proactively minimize the chance of it happening. At the end of the day, these tricks will lead to more transactions, sales and profit.

Customers referred by other customers have a 37% higher retention rate. Schedule a free consultation to learn how else a referral program can help you achieve your ecommerce goals.

The post 9 Tricks for Lowering Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate appeared first on Ambassador.

Americans spend an average of 158 minutes on their mobile devices everyday. That’s more than 15% of their time awake. Perhaps more surprising, 75% say they bring their phones into the bathroom, and another 15% admit to answering their phones during sex. In other words, people love their mobile devices.

Some more juicy stats from the folks over at Pew Research:

• 90% of Americans own cell phones
• 42% own a tablet computer
• 32% use mobile readers
• 55% of US consumers use their mobile devices to go online
• 79% participate in texting

What does that mean to marketers? It means that your audience is more mobile than ever before, and if you’re not adjusting your marketing strategy to account for this, you’re most certainly missing out. In fact, mobile commerce is projected to account for 15 percent of total ecommerce sales this year.

Yet, according to a recent poll by Aweber Communications and 60 Second Marketer, 1 in 3 businesses are still not capitalizing on the mobile marketing goldmine. If you happen to be one of these latecomers, or you’re just starting to dip your toe into the mobile marketing water, here are 5 key things you need to know before you get started.

You must be ready:

There’s really no point in driving people to your mobile brand if they’re not going to have a great experience. The first step in developing a successful mobile marketing campaign is identifying your objectives and then implementing a strategy to meet those goals.

Think of the context of your mobile users. Mobile users aren’t looking for the same information as your typical desktop users. How can you bring that information front and center. Think about what you want to get from your mobile users. Do you want to provide value for your existing customers (reducing churn is part of marketing too) or acquire new ones. Where are they in the purchase cycle. Maybe it isn’t best to go for the close right away.

Your site should be optimized for mobile use:

Once you understand what you’re objectives are, you must turn to the technical aspect of mobile marketing. That is, optimizing your site. Mobile devices, whether it’s a smartphone or tablet, are obviously much smaller than desktop computers. Your site must be mobile-friendly, including the following features:

• Responsive design to automatically adjust to any mobile device
• Fast load time
• Limited data entry required
• Easy access to information

It’s important to keep in mind that responsive web design doesn’t just mean increasing the font size shrinking the width. Consider the context of a user browsing your site on a mobile phone. Think about the specific information they are seeking and bring that to the forefront.

It constantly amazes me how few carry-out restaurants put their contact information front and center when I visit their site from my phone, or display a menu as a pdf download. There is no faster way to generate profanity from a marketer than making it difficult for me to give you my money.

Consistency is key:

Just as with your social media strategy, your mobile marketing should be consistent across all channels. Consumers want to experience the same look and feel when they visit your mobile website as they would when browsing your desktop site – albeit a more condensed version. Consider your mobile marketing as part of your overall branding efforts.

Location is everything:

One of the biggest benefits of mobile marketing from the consumer’s standpoint is the ability to receive targeted, relevant data wherever they may be at any given moment. Your mobile marketing strategy should leverage this by including geo-location API technology. In other words, you’ll know exactly where your target audience is so you can deliver the right offers to the right people at the right time for optimum results. In the context of our carry-out restaurant, consider providing driving directions from my current location.

Broaden your horizons:

Mobile marketing is about much more than just optimizing your site for handheld devices. There are plenty of of other ways you can take advantage of this growing market, including text message marketing, QR codes and apps, just to name a few. Test the waters and measure regularly to see what techniques garner the best results and don’t be afraid to have a little fun while you’re at it.

There’s no doubt about it, your target audience is going has gone mobile. Shouldn’t you? If you’re not yet cashing in on this incredible opportunity, the time is now. Don’t get left behind.

Wondering how to make your referrals go mobile? Check out this awesome example our customer Lunatik built on the Ambassador API. Schedule a consultation to learn more today.

The post Must Know Mobile Marketing Statistics appeared first on Ambassador.

Here are some referral marketing best practices for B2C marketers:

Auto-Enroll (Everyone!) & Promote

Import your contacts from email lists, CRM or marketing automation software to make sure that everyone who interacts with your brand is given an opportunity to participate as an ambassador in your referral program – without having to sign up. Promote on your website, promote on social media, and promote via email marketing.

Make it Easy

B2C referral programs should be simple, intuitive, and allow customers and fans to share with one-click.  Forget promo codes or points systems.  Leverage intelligent URL tracking to ensure minimal effort for your ambassadors.

Post-purchase referral “widgets” are the best way for e-commerce companies to maximize referrals from a new customer.  Just remember, the less work your customers have to do, the more likely they are to engage and share.

LEVERAGE your social media communities and contacts

A Forbes article by Kimberly Whitler states: “I grew up with the famous Faberge commercial that showed a woman who ‘told two friends” about the product and how they told two friends … and so on … and so on.’ Hasn’t WOM (Word of Mouth Marketing) always been a powerful way to improve business results?”

Your social channels give you access to thousands of people that are fans, but might not be customers yet. Sharing your referral program on social, by email or text, allows you to engage and convert fans into new customers. Plus, that’s where your fans are most likely to share anyway – “fish where the fish are.”

Reward them appropriately

Whether it’s a recurring monthly commission rewards like Netflix, or $2,000 in cash like Tesla, a worthwhile reward will always create momentum around your referral program. The payout needs to match the effort it takes for one of your customers to garner a referral. Stratos Card generated $30,000 in revenue and 300 new customers in the first three months of their referral program by simply letting customers know they could receive their card for free if they referred enough individuals in their network.

Referral software and Word-of-Mouth marketing works, it’s been proven for thousands of brands. Just remember the tips above and your program will do what it’s supposed to do: grow your business.

Interested in continuing to explore the best practices behind referral programs?  Download our free ebook below.

The post Referral Marketing for B2C Companies appeared first on Ambassador.

Net Promoter, Net Promoter System, NPS, and Net Promoter Score are trademarks and registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., Satmetrix Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld and are being used under license.

The post Understanding the Net Promoter Score (Infographic) appeared first on Ambassador.

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Many brands are venturing outside of their office and within their network to find early adopters that can take out some of the mass marketing legwork by driving word-of-mouth. For many companies, the ideal marketing campaign is self-sustaining — an organic ripple that migrates throughout target markets and accurately represents your brand.

If you’re looking to get your business off of the ground while building a valuable consumer base and smoothing out the kinks of your product, you should start marketing to early adopters. Yes, those early adopters. The pillars of modern marketing myth and Everett M. Rogers’ legend that purchase first and ask questions later, then tell all of their fearful friends about what they can expect in the ominously near future.

Early adopters may not be your first choice, but when targeted correctly, they can build buzz within exclusive inner circles and eventually entice mainstream customers to give your product a try. Read on to learn about the qualities that your marketing team can master to think like an early adopter.

Dream Big

Don’t sleep on the power of user insight.

Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia realized early on that hosts would play a major role in his business strategy. He wanted visitors to feel welcome and have a memorable experience with each stay, but wasn’t reaching the audience or driving the revenue that he had anticipated. While visiting a core group of early Airbnb hosts, he was able to step into the shoes of his prospective customers. The friendly and generous hosts were great in person, but the home pictures displayed on the website didn’t capture the welcoming spirit that he encountered on his trip.

Gebbia decided that professional images of the housing options would give visitors a more realistic glimpse of what they could expect from their stay. After implementing this change, Airbnb doubled its humble revenue of $200 per week. Gebbia admits that early adopter observations helped his company grow from one spare air mattress to a network of over 600,000 hosts that work to create a curated customer experience. For some startups, actual experiences from early adopters can deliver insight that influences product strategy and positively alters the company’s trajectory.

Think Bigger

Know when it’s time for a change.

When San Francisco startup Lumoid announced that it would rent out a limited batch of Apple Watches for a less expensive daily fee, Apple early adopters everywhere rejoiced. To build on that excitement, Lumoid furthered its existing “rent, try, buy” method and introduced a string of notoriously sought-after products to their lineup.

Talk about an innovative inception story. By appealing to a target market of aspiring early adopters, Lumoid early-adopted early adopters.

Since then, Lumoid opened up the possibility to explore other industries — ranging from photography to wearables — by understanding that the desire to adopt early and update often was a growing trend. Marketers should mimic useful patterns of early adopters  to create an agile way to reach their consumers.

Reach Higher

Discover new ways to grow.

A year after announcing the early adopter program on their website, Grove released a follow-up video showcasing testimonials from early adopters of The Grove Ecosystem. The at-home gardening system naturally appeals to a niche audience of environmentally conscious, health-savvy consumers, but this video was a subtle way to give a broader audience a sneak peek into the features and benefits of the product.

Who knew that oregano, tomatoes and a temperature-controlling app could be so endearing? Here’s the takeaway for marketers: Each early adopter campaign should bake social proof into it and empower customers to take the leap from brand awareness to brand preference.

Remember Innovative Marketing

Since early adopters are the first to ‘buy into’ your product or idea, they’re typically the best candidates to generate buzz. To find those early adopters, however, you must first learn to think like them.

Every market and product category contains these initiators who spread word-of-mouth, but it’s up to you to find, understand, and entice this important group. When you do that, your ideas migrate to the masses and the ‘diffusion of innovation’ reaches a successful endpoint.

The post Innovative Marketing: Think Like An Early Adopter appeared first on Ambassador.

In fact, the company-customer relationship has undergone a noticeable shift over the last few years. Customers are no longer uninformed pawns of the marketing game, they’re key players. If your team is on the right track, you’ve already made customers an integral component of your eCommerce game plan. Let’s take a look at a few strategies that transform customer interaction into company-wide eCommerce insight.  

Use smart content to make the World Wide Web a little bit smaller

Sometimes pertinent feedback doesn’t come in a form fill or a questionnaire. In fact, some of the most important information about your customers comes from easily predictable defining characteristics. Qualities like location, language, and type of device can be established well before customers even enter your website. Your brand can respond to these established facts by populating smart content on a landing page that essentially provides a unique landing page for specific customers.

International eCommerce retailer ASOS uses smart content on its homepage that displays unique copy, images, and pricing based on a customer’s geographical location.

Take the unique, geographically specific homepages for ASOS customers for example. The featured clothing styles are the same, but notice the change in the website language, headers, currency, and updated modules on the right side of the page. ASOS understands that shoppers in the United States and Europe have a different set of needs and they’ve built their website to exhibit the difference. A Janrain study revealed that nearly three-fourths of online consumers get frustrated by irrelevant landing page content. Customers may encounter different landing pages, but the brand identity and purchasing process is the same. Smart content is like the welcome mat that you see as you step up to visit a good friend’s house, it invites you to take another step and hopefully stay for a long time.

eCommerce Tip: Create an active response to the idle feedback that a customer’s defining characteristics provide by using smart content. This proves that your brand is being observant from the start and carves out a unique space for customers before their initial visit to the homepage.

Perform A/B tests to create grade A features

Imagine. You’re drafting a new landing page on your site and not quite sure where to place certain modules or which copy to incorporate. There’s probably a member of your team who thinks their idea is the obvious choice and another member of the team that thinks the opposite. This is the common landing page stand-off and every eCommerce professional has been there before. The best way to remedy this situation is to determine what your website visitors (and potential customers) prefer. As hard as it is for marketers to admit, we can’t forecast every single move that customers will make. According to Econsultancy’s Annual Conversion Rate Optimisation Report, 67% of companies optimize conversion rates using A/B testing. Oftentimes, the most beneficial information can be retrieved from customer behavior.

Call-to-Action ‘A’ Version

Call-to-Action ‘B’ Version

An Ambassador blog post call-to-action A/B test

Ambassador tests the different calls-to-action in the above blog post images to measure which one results in the most resource downloads. The metrics gained from the clicks on these buttons help guide how we’ll incorporate calls-to-action in future blog posts.

A/B tests transform aesthetic choices into elements that assign statistical significance to your website visitors’ preferences. Although each brand campaign will have its own set of desired metrics and customer behaviors, the results can lead your team in the right direction toward an enticing and engaging website feature. Before you get started, develop a clear set of goals for traffic and customer behavior that corresponds to a solid timeline. You’ll be able to avoid the never-ending cycle of testing then re-testing if you know what you’re looking for from the beginning.

eCommerce Tip: Chances are, your customers are already acting out their preferences and performing behaviors that you can learn from on your website. Consult your page-specific metrics and brand goals to decide which customer preferences are pronounced enough to become sitewide features for a given time.

Follow up with a favor

In the olden days, any trace of an online presence was enough to validate your business as a modern brand (or dissuade old-fashioned customers from interacting with you online). Today’s customer touch points are a bit more nuanced. In addition to a pristine website, customers have come to expect repeat email interactions. In fact, accepting a customer’s email address without sending a follow-up offer email is almost unheard of. Take this one step further by sending emails that prioritize your customer’s needs over your brand’s desire to sell product.

Boohoo’s attention-grabbing abandon cart email uses the customer’s first name and a link back to a specific product.

The above image displays the cart abandonment email that I received from Boohoo after leaving an item in my cart and exiting the site. Instead of assuming that I was done exploring the site, Boohoo sent a concise email explaining the following steps and directing me back to the cart to complete my purchase.

eCommerce marketing has matured beyond the customary introductory emails or post-purchase receipts. A customer-approved email responds to the unique actions that customers perform while on your eCommerce website. According to an Experian study, transactional emails generate 8 times more opens and 6 times more revenue than any other type of email.

eCommerce Tip: Diversify your email marketing strategy and approach each customer like a trusted friend that you’re looking out for. Your customers will expect discounts and company news, but they’ll appreciate a link to forgotten items or little-known information.

Your Customer-Approved Website Strategy

Technology has empowered eCommerce brands to create customer-approved online experiences that mimic the interactions that patrons would have at a traditional brick-and-mortar shop. No two customers are exactly the same, so their journey through your site and to the all-important point of purchase varies too. Your brand can start to build a customer-approved eCommerce experience by incorporating your customer’s dynamic characteristics, discovering their preferences, and sparking an organic email workflow. Trust us, your customers are paying attention. Are you?

The post From Feedback to Features: Your Customer-Approved eCommerce Experience appeared first on Ambassador.

Unless you’ve been living under a social media rock, you’ve likely come across the option to register for a website using your existing social media identity. Privacy issues aside, using social login is a great way to acquire not only more users, but also customer information that’s critical to establishing a truly social brand.

Here’s why:

1. Social Login Helps Deter Shopping Cart Abandonment

Research shows that on average, 75 percent of ecommerce sales don’t occur because site visitors abandon their shopping carts.

And one of the main reasons for this mass exodus online is the requirement to complete lengthy registration forms at the end of the shopping experience. In such a busy, fast-paced world, who wants to fill out registration forms from scratch?

Not only that, but having hundreds of distinct usernames and passwords for all of the sites we frequently buy from can be difficult to manage for even the most organized online user. Not surprisingly, 40 percent of online shoppers use the “Forgot Password” feature at least once a month!

With social login integrated into your shopping cart process, customers can simply use their existing social media profiles to create an online account. This leads to less friction, and it also prevents the loss of millions of dollars in ecommerce revenue.

2. Social Login Makes Sharing Easier

The average online shopper spends almost 55 hours per month on social networks talking about brands and products and their shopping experiences. And 68 percent of users say they use social network sites to read product reviews.

Helping customers share about their purchases and experiences with your brand more easily will get you much-needed exposure. It will also ensure that your products are shared with relevant, high-value customers who are much more likely to spend time on social media sites than on your landing page.

Considering the fact that customers are four times as likely to make a purchase when referred by a friend, your brand can’t ignore the awesome sharing potential that social login provides.

3. Social Login Gives You HONEST Customer Data

Unfortunately, 88 percent of customers admit they’ve lied on an online registration form. So even if you’re getting a high conversion rate from your existing forms, you can’t assume the data you’ve gleaned is accurate.

Social media sites have bolstered users to develop online personas as a means of staying connected and building a strong network. That means when users sign in using an existing social media profile, there’s a much higher likelihood that the data is truthful, giving you a more concrete opportunity to tailor your brand to those most likely to convert.

According to a recent study conducted in the United Kingdom, while 57 percent of customers find it very useful to receive targeted promotions and deals from brands, 96 percent report receiving offers that are mistargeted. Considering the fact that 64 percent of customers are more likely to return to a brand if the experience is personalized, and that 54 percent will recommend that website to friends and family, it’s easy to see how you can bolster consumer confidence in your brand by providing a truly social experience for your customers.

Social engagement starts with knowing your customer base and understanding the online conversation about your brand. Incorporating social login into your shopping cart process will not only help you understand the relevant metrics surrounding your customers, but also help your brand excel in the burgeoning arena of social commerce and create a truly social experience.

The post Why Your Startup Should Embrace Social Login appeared first on Ambassador.

Far and away the most critical factor in creating positive word of mouth is human interaction. That’s right, human. This may sound a bit strange, given that your customer base is, for the most part, located entirely online. But thanks to today’s amazing social media tools, businesses can make a personal connection with their customers that was unheard of even a couple of years ago.

© 2006-2013 Pink Sherbet Photography via photopin cc

Ready to get started? Here are four ways to build extraordinary relationships with your customers and a strong base of brand ambassadors now:

1. Listen First

Interacting with customers online is supposed to be a two-way conversation. It’s important to hear what your fans are saying about you either before or while you’re speaking with them via social media channels. Be sure to take into account what type of feedback you’re getting and how you can shape your strategy to best accommodate customer wants and needs.

Keep abreast of how and why customers are interacting with your brand by tracking Facebook posts and shares, tweets, and direct communications. You might also try using simple surveys, emails, or Web forms. But the goal is always the same: listen and take notes. Communicating with your customers and fans is the best way to optimize your referral marketing strategy and continue generating positive word of mouth.

2. Provide Personalized Customer Service

Your opportunity to build brand ambassadors doesn’t begin at the point of sale, but much earlier in the process. Providing excellent customer service on an ongoing basis is a huge factor in converting sales to brand ambassadors.

Keep your interactions personal. If a customer asks a question via Twitter, be sure to respond using the Reply feature or by sending a direct message. And be quick about it! Your customers will appreciate being treated like real people, as opposed to feeling like just another cog in the sales machine.

3. Be Transparent and Genuine

We wrote some guidelines for how to humanize your brand, and the point still remains: In today’s marketing environment, potential customers are looking for personalized interactions with brands. It’s easy to tell when you’re being marketed at versus interacting with real people—this is what makes referral marketing such an effective tool.

Be transparent and open about the happenings of your company. Encourage feedback from your online community. And always keep the channels of communication open for advice and compliments. Craft your message and interact online as if you’re communicating with real people—because you are.

4. Treat Your Customers as Valued Partners

The most effective referral marketing programs work because they recognize the value and importance of satisfied customers. In essence, a customer should feel as though he or she has a personal stake in the success of your brand.

Take customer feedback seriously and act quickly when you receive requests or questions. Provide fans with avenues for discussion and keep tabs on what they’re saying. The more engaged a customer is with your brand, the more likely he or she is to go out and refer friends and family back to you.

A brand that focuses on building truly human interactions with online communities will build trust, loyalty, and a constant stream of positive word of mouth.

How are you interacting with your customers online?

The post 4 Easy Steps for Building Extraordinary Customer Relationships and Positive Word-of-Mouth appeared first on Ambassador.

So you must keep in mind that trust is a huge component in bringing sales to online businesses. Customers want to really see these brands and understand the principles that should drive them from their current positions as occasional audience members to loyal brand ambassadors. Basically, customers want brands to be human.

Humanizing your brand is a necessary step to ensure your company’s survival in a social media environment. It’s the key to building relationships with your customers and creating a powerful base of brand ambassadors. But where do you begin? Here are six ways you can start humanizing your brand today:

1. Develop an Online Voice

Company-to-consumer advertisements are no longer effective in the 21st century. Advertising is now a two-way conversation between brands and online audiences. As such, it’s important to ask yourself: What does my brand sound like to real people? Customers should think of your brand as a friend, not a company. It’s this relationship—and loyal customers’ relationships with offline friends and family—which will prompt them to become brand ambassadors. In recent years the folks at Skittles have done a wonderfully creative job of establishing their online voice. Check out our previous blog post for a great case study on their transformation.

2. Tailor Your Message to Your Audience

Is your brand advertising to a serious B2B audience? Or maybe your customers are a lighthearted B2C community? Whoever it is, be sure you listen to what’s being said about your brand on social media, and then develop a cohesive strategy to communicate your true personality right back at ’em.

3. Encourage Feedback and Content from Your Online Community

Host contests for potential customers to share photos and stories with other fans and followers, or develop strategies to highlight customer experiences on your page. But most of all, you want to make sure that your customers are active participants with your brand, not passive listeners. Content can be a huge driver of conversions and sales—so why not tap into what your customers are already posting and saying online?

4. Post Personal Photos of Your Brand Being Human

What better way to humanize your brand than to show the actual humans who are responsible for creating and maintaining it every day? Social networks allow brands to show off their best qualities, and hopefully one of these qualities includes the people who stand behind your brand. Post photos from a cool team trip or just random happenings around the office. It will make your brand more relatable and trustworthy to online customers.

5. Stop Selling, Start Engaging

It’s pretty easy for customers to know when they’re being sold something, and that’s the last thing they want to see when they’re talking to friends and family on Facebook or Twitter. As outbound advertising becomes less effective, the role of social marketing becomes even more important. Maintain an authenticity around your brand—you’ll receive better exposure, a better reputation, and more referred customers.

6. Have a Plan!

This seems like an obvious one, but it’s surprising how many brands blindly jump into social media without a cohesive plan of action. Take a step back to make sure you understand your audience first. What makes them tick? What type of language are they using? How often and where are they posting content? Of course, you shouldn’t spend too much time in the weeds collecting data. Social media moves quickly, so getting your referral marketing strategy up and running is critical for your brand’s success.

The advertising world changes rapidly and businesses, like people, must keep up with the latest trends. Brands are human, after all, and your marketing strategy should reflect that. So remember that your customers want to engage with you online, and your goal is to give them the right environment in which to do so!

How are you humanizing your brand?

The post 6 Tips for Humanizing Your Brand to Create More Effective Social Media Advertising appeared first on Ambassador.