Giving Thanks to the Community: Three Powerful Ways to Send the Message
On the other end of it all are those individuals that have made it possible for your efforts to turn fruitful.
These are the people that were there for you in the beginning and will stay with you until the end. The people that help spread the word and brought you brand recognition. The same people that buy your products or subscribe to your services.
A thank you goes a long way.
You’re in a position made possible by the actions of others. Now it’s time to give thanks.
Showcase a fan
The idea is to use a blog or social post to do a short interview/showcase of someone meaningful.
Take a look through the performance of your social media efforts or sales reports to find an individual that was engaged with your brand that week. Get in touch with this individual and see if they would be willing to share their experience and photo which would be turned into content and shared to the rest of your community.
This is a great way to show appreciation because you’re A) reaching out to thank them personally, and B) you’re giving them the spotlight which people love because it makes them feel special.
Give an inside peek
The idea is to give an individual some form of insider information (a sneak peek if you will).
Follow the same procedure as before but in this case you are inviting them to see upcoming releases and ongoing projects. They will be able to gain a glimpse behind-the-scenes of the business and interact with you and others on your team.
This is similar to how you see studios and other entertainment brands take in fans to give them special treatment; once they’re in the fold they become doubly passionate because they got to experience what few others have before.
Meet in person
The idea is to remove the tech-barrier and have a sit down with someone that’s local.
You’ll obviously want to keep this as casual as possible because it isn’t something you see happen all the time but meeting your fans that would otherwise only have contact through a screen is a great gesture. There will be business talk, no doubt, but eventually the tension will ease and the real conversation will start. You could go big with this and invite multiple people out to meet you and the team such as during a company BBQ, sports event, or a night out of celebration.
This is the perfect opportunity to pick their brains and let them picks yours; you can have them walking away knowing you and the team are genuine people which will leave a lasting impression.
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There are plenty of competitors in the market and it’s likely a few of them have products or services very much like your own. A person can go to any one of these competitors if they choose but you know what keeps them coming back to you? Appreciation.
Image by condesign
