Building Brand Loyalty Through Authentic Human Connection
According to an eBook produced by Asendia, a global e-commerce delivery company, “Authenticity is defined as how a shopper perceives a brand to be faithful to itself, its customers, and to the wider world, and is the basis on which shoppers trust them. This trust is lost when a brand looks as though it is trying to be something that it’s not.” As in delivery and e-commerce, authenticity in social media is crucial to gaining and maintaining the trust of a brand community. It goes beyond simple trust in the brand to be faithful to itself, though.
A post on Psychology Today discusses how people form emotional attachments to brands and don’t always make purchases to simply meet their needs. Many purchases are also a reflection of self: The idea that, “I buy Nike. I am, therefore, what Nike represents.” Because people assign emotional attachment to brands, when they interact with those brands on social media, if human connection isn’t reflected, trust in the brand wavers. Without that trust, there is no brand loyalty.
Human Connection Is Essential in Building Brand Loyalty: By the Numbers
Don’t want to read the whole post? Here are some numbers to whet your appetite:
In sales
Emotionally connected customers are more likely to spend double on their favorite brands. An authentic human connection eases our tendency to say “no” when considering a purchase.
In finance
More than half (51%) of financial services customers are emotionally engaged, which is higher than other sectors. Which makes sense. Our finances are personal, and a feeling of human connection increases trust and a sense of security in the people who manage our money day to day.
Word of mouth
81% of customers recommend and spend more money on brands based on the human connection they feel toward that brand. This means when companies invest in authentic connections, ROI grows like ripples on a still pond.
Inflation
Recent research from Asendia found that when consumers believe brands to be authentic, 48% will still continue to shop with the brand even when faced with inflationary price increases.
So, what does it take for brands to show authenticity and human connection within the messaging? Let’s take a look!
Language Used in Posts
We all know that brand tone and voice are important, but that’s not where the writing ends. When it comes to sharing authentic posts, there are at least four things to keep in mind: Platform community, brand perception, brand values, and tone and voice (they are still important, just not the end of the story). Let’s take a deeper look at how authentic language can build brand loyalty.
Platform community
Every social media platform has its own ecosystem, and the demographics that make up these ecosystems play a big part in shaping the communities that arise. Brand communities don’t always travel from platform to platform. Facebook communities might not enjoy the same humor that bonds communities on X. TikTok viewers have slang that entertains those in the know but will confound anyone not familiar with certain trends. So, it’s essential for brands to personalize the content shared on each platform if they want to build a community. In essence, not all people like the same things. Connecting with the communities on each platform through their likes and interests will build loyal fans who follow your content and actually listen to what you have to say…