What brings people to the social networking page of their favorite brands? More importantly, how does a digital connection affect their consumer behaviors? Open Access BPO, a leading provider of Philippine call center services, presents dissected reasons behind a consumer’s decision to follow brands online.

Brands that maintain a social media presence as an alternate or supporting channel for their call center services thrive on the popularity of their name online. If customers have no idea how to reach them on the Internet, taking the customer service initiative to a social network would turn out useless because, obviously, there’d be no one to assist and serve on this platform.

Knowing what lures people in and what makes them stay is the first step towards executing an effective social media campaign, be it for customer service or marketing. So, what baits do you have that consumers would likely bite?

Deals are always inviting

An infographic published on Get Satisfaction’s blog said that special offers and deals are the main reason people Like a Facebook Brand Page or follow a business account on Twitter. On Facebook, 36.9% of a typical brand’s Likers probably joined its Page because of the deals offered there. This is also the case for almost half, or 43.5%, of a brand’s Twitter followers.

Moreover, a large percent of a following (32.9% on Facebook, 23.5% on Twitter) had already done business with the brand before joining its social media page, while others (18.9% on Facebook, 22.7% on Twitter) did so because of the interesting or entertaining content the page posts. Surprisingly, getting product assistance and news is the least inviting reason people follow business pages.

What happens after?

Let’s say your Facebook Page has enough followers. What should you do with them now? It’s unlikely that they all have technical concerns that your representatives would answer round-the-clock, so the types of interaction you’d likely have there are marketing-related, particularly these:

• Considers your brand when buying products of the same kind
This is what both Twitter (47.7%) and Facebook (40.9%) followers would usually do, but less than 25% said that they would always consider the brand.

• Buys your product or service
Again, those on Twitter (45.8%) have a higher chance of buying from you than those who follow your Facebook (42.8%) Page.

• Recommends your brand to others
However, Facebook Likers (39.1%) are more likely to recommend your brand than Twitter followers (36.8%).

How can you engage with them then? Since the majority of your online following followed you for the promos and deals you offer, it s best to hold contests to get active followers. The same Get Satisfaction research said that this is the most effective customer engagement activity, with 70% of consumers saying that they participate in brand-sponsored sweepstakes.

A sweeping 97% further claimed that an online experience has influenced them to either buy or avoid product, which only fortifies the idea that when conducting customer service or marketing activities online, it pays to know your market’s pulse in order to win their loyalty.