How to Turn Contacts into Genuine Connections

One of the greatest challenges a business faces is to connect with their customer base and evolve these relationships into a brand community full of raving fans that live and breathe the products and culture of the company. This is no small feat, but once achieved it can mean a world of difference for any business. One of the best examples is Apple’s 1997 “Think Different” campaign, which opted to infuse their brand with a philosophy of creative genius rather than touting all the technical specs of their computers. As the narration kicks in at the beginning with “Here’s to the crazy ones,” the ad doesn’t try to peddle widgets, but instead touts the sentiment that owning an Apple product will help consumers amplify their individuality, thus giving birth to a now vibrant Apple fan base. Almost 20 years later, it’s no secret that social media has redefined the landscape of how marketers can connect with customers. Here are what companies are doing to turn contacts into genuine connections with their customers — ways that weren’t possible in decades past.

Company Culture and Customer Service

The companies that are most successful at making genuine connections with clients are the ones that have a healthy internal culture of people who are passionate about the products and services they are supporting. A great example is the company Zappos, the online shoe store that puts such a high value on customer service that they offer their new hires $2,000 to quit after their first week of work. This ensures that employees who stick around aren’t just trying to meet short term financial goals, and that they’re really committed to Zappo’s mission and culture of providing incredible customer service to their clients. By building a culture of superior customer service from the bottom up, Zappos has set themselves up to make meaningful connections with the people they interact with on a daily basis, whether it’s internally with employees or externally with customers.

Engaging with Social Media

One of the biggest mistakes companies make when they start with social media is they use these channel to push out content rather than trying to engage with people to start conversations and build a community. With Facebook having more than 1.4 billion users, and Twitter at 284 million, social networks offer a huge potential to connect with people in your industry and build a rapport. When posting on social channels, think of it less like a billboard that displays your content, and more of an invitation for others to interact with your brand. The security company Lifelock has an active Twitter account that humanizes their brand with posts bringing attention to charity causes they support, retweeted content from other users in their network, and by adding humor into some of their posts. With more than 23,000 followers, Lifelock’s account is a perfect example of how companies with large networks can still have a genuine connection with their audience.

Video Content over Written Word

With more than 169.2 million unique video views at YouTube.com in July 2015 alone, online video content is one of the best ways to connect with people. Due to the advancements in the camera technology in smartphones, it’s easier than ever to produce short videos to push out on your Facebook page, YouTube account, blog, and anywhere else. Remember that you don’t have to be Steven Spielberg for your videos to be effective. Just the fact that your audience can see the body language and facial expressions of the person in a video while hearing the sound of their voice is powerful when compared to the written word. By distributing short one to two minute videos of messages or updates from people in your organization, you’ll have some great content to help you build rapport with your contacts and help convert them into a genuine connection.