Going the Distance: Four Ways to Build a Better Customer Loyalty Program for Your Brand

It’s easy enough for a customer to join your loyalty program, especially when you’re offering an incentive such as discounts. All your customer has to do is give out some basic information, and voila! They’re in the fold, a brand new loyalty member with your company. From there, it’s happily ever after. You offer the perks; they stand solidly by you, bringing you their continued business. Simple. Or is it? In reality, just how many of those customers are act ively participating in your loyalty program? Do you know? Sure, loyalty program memberships are on the rise according to market research company eMarketer, having jumped 25 percent in the space of just two years. However, that figure may be a bit misleading. The truth is that, while loyalty program sign-ups may be more numerous, active participation in such programs is actually in decline. At the time of the study, the average US household had memberships in 29 loyalty programs; yet consumers were only active in 12 of those. That’s just 41 percent. And even that meager figure represents a drop of 2 percentage points per year over each of the preceding four years, according to a study by loyalty-marketing research company COLLOQUY.

When discounts just aren’t enough

So what’s a brand to do? How can you make your loyalty program worth your customer’s while—as well as your own? After all, gaining a new loyalty member doesn’t mean much if your customer isn’t actively participating in your program. Consider this: Does your customer loyalty program offer members anything different from what your competitors are offering? Chances are your program includes discounts. That’s a given. And what customer doesn’t appreciate a good discount? But when every other company out there is providing this staple benefit in comparable amounts, it becomes less and less likely that customers will remain loyal to any one particular brand. Frankly, it’s all too easy for customers to get lost in a sea of loyalty member discounts. They’re everywhere. In fact, just under half of internet users perceive that all rewards programs are alike, according to a 2015 eMarketer survey. The key to success, then, is to differentiate your business from the crowd. If you can offer your customers something unique and valuable beyond the usual discount, chances are they’ll be more likely to stick with your brand. Here’s some inspiration from companies who get it.

Virgin: Reward more purchases with more benefits.

That’s not to say you need to get rid of discounts entirely. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Customers still love a good discount. The goal is to be creative in terms of the loyalty perks you offer. Take the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, for example. As part of its loyalty program, the airline allows members to earn miles and tier points. Members are inducted at the Club Red tier, from which they can move up to Club Silver and then Club Gold. Here, it’s not just a discount. It’s status. And people respond to feeling important, elite. Still, even where the rewards themselves are concerned, Virgin is motivating loyalty customers with some pretty attractive offers. At the Club Red tier, members earn flight miles and receive discounts on rental cars, airport parking, hotels and holiday flights. But as members rise in tiers, they get even more. At the Club Silver tier, members earn 50 percent more points on flights, access to expedited check-in, and priority standby seating. And once they reach the top, Club Gold members receive double miles, priority boarding and access to exclusive clubhouses where they can get a drink or a massage before their flight. Now that’s some serious incentive to keep coming back for more. Discounts are still part of the equation – but they are designed with innovation and personal value in mind, elevating them to more than just savings.

Amazon Prime: Pay upfront and become a VIP.

What if your customers only had to pay a one-time upfront fee to get a year’s worth of substantial benefits? It may not sound like the smartest business idea at first glance. But take a closer look. Amazon Prime users pay a nominal $99 a year to gain free, two-day shipping on millions of products with no minimum purchase. And that’s just one benefit of going Prime. It’s true that Amazon loses $1-2 billion a year on Prime. This comes as no surprise given the incredible value the program offers. But get this: Amazon makes up for its losses in markedly higher transaction frequency. Specifically, Prime members spend an average of $1,500 a year on Amazon.com, compared with $625 spent by non-Prime users, a ccording to a 2015 report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.

Patagonia: Cater to customer values.

Sometimes, the draw for consumers isn’t saving money or getting a great deal. The eco-friendly outdoor clothing company Patagonia figured this out back in 2011, when it partnered with eBay to launch its Common Threads Initiative: a program that allows customers to resell their used Patagonia clothing via the company’s website. Why is this program important to customers? And how does it benefit Patagonia? The company’s brand embraces environmental and social responsibility, so it was only fitting that they create a platform for essentially recycling old clothing rather than merely throwing it away. The Common Threads Initiative helps Patagonia build a memorable brand and fierce loyalty by offering its customers a cause that aligns with deep personal values. OK, so their customers get to make a little money, too. Everybody wins.

American Airlines: Gamify your loyalty program.

If you’re going to offer your customers a loyalty program, why not make it f un? After all, engagement is key to building a strong relationship with your customer. And what better way to achieve that goal than making a game of it. American Airlines had this very thing in mind when it created its AAdvantage Passport Challenge following its merger with USAirways. The goal: find a new way to engage customers as big changes were underway. Using a custom Facebook application, American Airlines created a virtual passport to increase brand awareness while offering members a chance to earn bonus points. Customers earned these rewards through a variety of game-like activities, from answering trivia questions to tracking travel through a personalized dashboard. In the end, participants earned more than 70 percent more stamps than expected – and the airline saw a ROI of more than 500 percent. The takeaway: people like games.

Stand out from the crowd.

Your approach to your customer loyalty program should align with your overall marketing approach. Effective branding is about standing out, not blending it. Being memorable is key. To this end, keep in mind that loyalty programs are no longer a novelty. That means that yesterday’s strategies won’t work moving forward, so look for ways to rise above the noise, setting yourself apart from the cloying drone of countless other cookie-cutter programs.

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The Virtual Revolution

If your bottom line isn't where you'd like it to be, the problem might be lurking right under your feet...and over your head...and all around you. It's your office, and it might just be what's killing your business. In today's economic climate, efficiency is the number one rule of survival. One of the greatest efficiency drains for many companies is the burdensome overhead of maintaining physical offices and everything that goes along with them – landline phone systems, servers, utilities, furnishings, cleaning services...the list goes on and on. In today's economic climate, efficiency is the number one rule of survivalIn the Digital Age, the evolution of technology and communication has reshaped how companies operate and people work. The future of business is leaner, smarter and more responsive. For many businesses, having all employees working the same hours under the same roof is a luxury of a bygone era. As a result, telecommuting is no longer just a nice perk for employees but a key element of a stronger and more competitive business model. While shedding your physical office can significantly reduce your monthly operating expenses, the benefits don't stop there. According to estimates from the Telework Research Network, if every American who could work from home did so even half the time, companies would see over $230 billion in added productivity. Furthermore, going virtual can greatly strengthen the quality of your personnel, as it frees you to hire the best talent for the job - not just those who live within a reasonable commute of your office. Even better news? As virtual companies become more and more prevalent, any stigma that might once have been attached to the lack of a centralized business operation is quickly disappearing. Today's savvy clients don't see value in lavish offices. Their budgets are tight, and they need to yield the most gain possible from every dollar. As a result, they want to be confident that they are investing in results, not taking the hit for your overhead, and that they are paying for talent and expertise, not footing the bill for your conference rooms and copiers.

Are you ready to join the revolution?

Is your company primed to go virtual? There are a number of factors you need to examine before you relinquish the keys to your office in order to make sure it's a good fit for you, your employees and your clients. First, ask yourself how having a physical office directly benefits your customers. If the only answer is the perception or prestige attached to a bricks-and-mortar workplace, it's a good time to consider taking your operation virtual. As long as you ease your customers through the transition without any lapse in performance or professionalism, they'll be far more appreciative of your ability to offer more competitive pricing because you no longer have to pass along the burden of unneeded overhead expenses. Second, take into account whether there are any advantages that your company gains from your specific location that could not be matched if your employees worked remotely. For example, do you get sales leads from walk-in traffic? Do you have a strong referral network established with neighboring firms? If not, chances are there's little to lose by closing up shop. You should seriously consider transitioning to a virtual operating model and reaping the benefits of lower expensesAnother consideration is how often your employees engage in meaningful face-to-face interactions. For many businesses, employees spend the majority of their day in front of a computer screen. Even cube farm inhabitants are likely more inclined to communicate via e-mail than to stop by a coworker's desk. If this is the case, why have all your employees tethered to a single location? Next, evaluate your internal systems for communication and collaboration. Have they been put through the ringer and proven to be effective? Are they so organic that they are now second-nature to your employees? If so, you can feel more confident that they will translate successfully to a virtual working environment, albeit with a bit of tweaking to allow smart technology to compensate for lack of physical proximity. Likewise, take a look at how you gage employee performance. Do you have good methods for tracking accomplishments and measuring productivity? If your performance metrics are sound, you shouldn't need the added security of seeing your worker bees present in the office for 40 hours a week. Finally, explore the growth dynamics of your company. How quickly is your company expanding? If you're unsure how many employees you will have at the end of this year or next, operating without a traditional office means you won't be forced to roll the dice and be locked into a lease on a pricey facility that may ultimately be too large or too small to fit your needs. If the results of your self-assessment weigh in favor of shedding your physical office, you should seriously consider transitioning to a virtual operating model and reaping the benefits of lower expenses, increased efficiency, higher employee satisfaction and – most importantly – greater profitability. To help you get started on the right track, here’s a primer on what you need to know to launch and manage your virtual company: Success begins and ends with trust: Discover why trust is the cornerstone of the virtual company. Remote management: Evolve your practices and policies to foster a highly productive nontraditional work environment. Let's talk about communication: Ensure that internal communication – whether conducted via phone, e-mail, IM or video chat – always remains positive and productive. Go, team, go!: Promote good collaboration among virtual teams by giving them the right tools for the job. The virtual toolbox: Review the basic logistical necessities that will help keep your virtual company running smoothly. The middle ground: Take advantage of virtual offices for a best-of-both-worlds solution that offers the perks of a traditional office without the crushing overhead.

Success begins and ends with trust

The virtual company exists today because the evolution of technology and communication have made it possible to conduct business anywhere at any time. However, what allows the virtual company to thrive is trust. At the foundation is trust in your employees. It starts with hiring the right people – ones you can feel confident will thrive in the absence of daily supervision. Good virtual employees are self-motivated and self-disciplined, able to manage their own priorities and deadlines and open to collaborating with others in unconventional ways. Once you have a strong team in place, set them up for success by establishing clear expectations. The absence of a shared workspace doesn't mean there must or should be an absence of rules. You still need policies in place governing all the logistics that surround the work process, even though it is happening outside the confines of a traditional office. For example, what are the work hours, and are employees responsible for being accessible outside those hours? You should also set standard operating procedures for answering phones, responding to e-mails, reporting accomplishments and even backing up files. Good virtual employees are self-motivated and self-disciplined, able to manage their own priorities and deadlines and open to collaborating with others in unconventional ways.The trust your employees have in each other is also an important piece of the pie. Each person should have faith that their colleagues are equally dedicated to furthering the success of the company, even when it's harder to see the day-to-day results of their efforts. And while virtual companies benefit from the absence of office politics, it's critically important to establish strong team dynamics. For this reason, it's still a good idea to get together face-to-face from time to time. Whether it's once a week, once a month or even once a quarter, opportunities for non-virtual interaction help to promote a spirit of camaraderie. Last but far from least important, going virtual requires clients and prospects to invest a high level of trust in you and your company that they will receive the same or greater level of service and productivity as they would if everyone was working under the same roof. To this end, there are a number of things you can do to help them keep the faith. First, you must ensure that professionalism is never compromised. While it shouldn't be a secret that you run a virtual operation, employees should maintain discipline in the separation of their personal and professional lives. Even when working from home, phone calls should be conducted with the same level of formality as they would at the office, without background noise, interruptions from children or pets or excessive chatter about personal matters. Also, although you might allow some flexibility with work hours, it’s a good practice to make sure you and your employees are accessible and available to respond promptly by phone or e-mail to clients who keep a more traditional schedule. Whenever you meet in person, you and your employees should always be exceptionally polished and choose a location for the meeting that is comfortable and conducive to work. While you might be right at home doing business at your local coffeehouse, your clients might find the noise, music and other patrons distracting. Instead, consider renting a meeting space in order to help put your clients at ease and make it easier for them to focus on your presentation. There are many firms, such as Regus and Davinci, that offer highly affordable hourly rates for virtual companies that need access to professional conference rooms. Finally, when talking to your clients and prospects, always project confidence that you and your team mean business, and then make good on those promises by delivering great results in a timely manner. With trust as your cornerstone, you'll be well on your way to building a strong virtual company that is positioned to compete with any bricks-and-mortar operation.

Remote management

Great companies make it easy for employees to perform, no matter if they are working under the same roof or in dozens of home offices spread throughout the city or even the country. While the challenges of managing a virtual workforce are different from those of shepherding cube-dwellers, they are nevertheless conquerable. The key is starting with a foundation of trust and then building a solid project management infrastructure to keep your company's production engine running smoothly. First, take a critical look at the systems you currently have in place for directing workflow. Are they truly efficient and effective? Sometimes the convenience of having full-time oversight of employees who share a common workspace can compensate for or mask weaknesses in your project management systems. However, once the conventions of the bricks-and-mortar office are removed, these vulnerabilities can lead to a breakdown in production and cripple your ability to turn out high quality work in a timely manner. To keep your projects and your people on track, approach every job as a series of milestones and set interim deadlines along the way. If each phase of the project progresses on track, you'll be assured of avoiding unpleasant surprises when crunch time arrives. Conversely, if an employee misses a milestone, this problem can be identified right away, and the schedule can be adjusted to ensure that you still ultimately meet the expected delivery date. Additionally, you will need to establish a regular rhythm for employees to check in and provide work status updates to you and their fellow team members. This process can be as informal as a weekly e-mail or phone conference or as structured as logging time spent on each project every day. Finding a system that works well with your leadership style and the nature of your business is critical to helping you enforce accountability, track accomplishments, evaluate productivity and ensure that tasks are being given the right level of priority based on the time and resources invested in them. Because the dynamics of managing a remote workforce are so complex, good project management software is invaluable to the virtual company. One example of such a system is 37signals' Basecamp. For a low monthly subscription fee, this web-based tool allows you to assign tasks and deadlines, track time, share files, develop documents collaboratively and centralize communication among team members.

Let's talk about communication

For the virtual company, communication among coworkers can take many shapes and forms, from phone calls and e-mails to instant messages and video chats. No matter the vehicle, ensuring that internal communication remains positive and productive is critically important to keeping your business and its people operating at peak performance. Trust in your systems and your employees to get the job done without needing to constantly check in. Since the majority of the interactions that take place are not in person, the benefit of situational context and body language is absent. As a result, each person should be mindful of the language and format they choose when communicating with colleagues in order to guard against misinterpretation. As a general rule of thumb, e-mail is a quick and efficient means of addressing straightforward, day-to-day matters regarding projects and work process. But for subjects of a more sensitive nature, such as addressing a problem with an employee who is underperforming or resolving a conflict between coworkers, taking the time to make a phone call or even arrange a face-to-face meeting will avoid damaging morale unnecessarily. By investing a little extra care and consideration in daily communication, everyone can work together to prevent misunderstandings and feelings of ill-will that can snowball into greater problems over time. As the leader of a workforce that is scattered across many different locations, it is your responsibility to make sure that you devote time to reaching out to every member of your team. Just because you run a virtual company doesn't mean anyone should feel invisible. Keep a healthy dialogue flowing by asking questions and soliciting feedback on a regular basis. However, don't fall into the trap of overcompensating for the lack of daily face-time with an overabundance of disruptive communication or meetings. Trust in your systems and your employees to get the job done without needing to constantly check in, and don't let the administrative minutiae of progress reporting become so burdensome that you compromise productivity. Depending on the size of your organization, holding all-hands or team-based meetings once a week can be a good opportunity to review accomplishments, touch base on projects and update attendees on company business. In the meantime, let quick phone calls, succinct e-mails and even brief instant message or video chat sessions suffice to answer questions that are crucial to keeping the work process flowing.

Go, team, go!

For colleagues who share an office, e-mail is typically the go-to means of communication. It's quick, it's easy, and it allows the recipients to read and respond at their convenience with minimal disruption. However, for virtual workers, e-mail is an insufficient vehicle to facilitate collaboration among team members who are working in many different locations. For your employees to collaborate efficiently and effectively, they need more than just a one-dimensional means of communicating back and forth. At a basic level, they need access to a shared knowledge base with the latest information pertaining to your customers and projects. More importantly, they need a way to work collectively on developing new documents as well as to brainstorm, bounce rough ideas off one another and get feedback from colleagues. In addition, they need a way to monitor workflow and keep tabs on the status of active projects. Lastly, they need tools that will help them stay connected on a personal level in order to promote a healthy spirit of camaraderie and minimize the occurrence of interpersonal conflicts. The good news is that there are three simple and cost-effective solutions that will fulfill almost all of these needs and keep remote employees working together as seamlessly as if they were under the same roof:

Instant messaging

Instant messaging is an easy, no-cost way to encourage real-time conversation and communication. With many IM clients such as Skype, iChat and Yahoo! Messenger, your employees can exchange instant messages one-on-one or with a group as well as engage in video chats for an even more personal experience. Like a virtual water cooler, instant message chats are a great vehicle for spontaneous brainstorming or problem-solving sessions.

Google Docs

The latest version of this excellent cloud-based system allows multiple users to create and edit shared word processing documents, spreadsheets, diagrams, charts and presentations. The new document editor now allows up to 50 co-authors to contribute to and edit the same file simultaneously, with color-coded real-time updates. Additionally, inline comments and a shared interface for chat and co-writing eliminates the need for team members to switch back and forth between windows as they carry on conversation about the task at-hand.

Project management software

Good project management software is a lifeline for virtual teams. For example, 37signals' Basecamp is a low-cost web-based tool that allows your employees to manage tasks and deadlines, track time spent on projects, share files, develop documents collaboratively and centralize communication among team members. The most important thing to remember is that the tools you choose have to fit your industry, your company and your employees, taking into account the strengths and weaknesses that currently exist within your work processes and the dynamics of your team. There's no need to become a slave to technology; there are plenty of available options that will make it easier to get work done without creating more work to manage your chosen systems.

The virtual toolbox

As more and more companies make the leap to going virtual, more and more vendors are competing to deliver agile solutions to replace relics of the traditional office like landline phone systems, fax machines and file servers. Even better, most of these new services are far more affordable and versatile than their antiquated predecessors. Here are just a few of the many available tools that will help the day-to-day operations of your virtual company run seamlessly:

Voice communication

For voice communication, providing each of your employees with a cell phone is an obvious solution. But how do you give your customers a single access point to this network of mobile workers? Just because you are giving up your office doesn't mean you have to sacrifice your company phone line, thanks to virtual phone systems such as Grasshopper. For as little as $9.99 per month, Grasshopper gives you a dedicated local or toll-free phone number with unlimited extensions, each with its own call forwarding, voicemail and message delivery settings. Better yet, your Grasshopper number can even double as a fax line and can deliver your incoming faxes straight to e-mail as PDFs.

File sharing and archiving

There are many services that allow you to store and access files remotely. Dropbox is a user-friendly file-syncronization tool that offers two gigabytes of secure online storage for free or up to 100 gigabytes for a low monthly fee. Dropbox works with files of any size or type as well as with Macs and PCs. Shared folders allow multiple people to work with the same set of files, and Dropbox automatically syncs when new files or changes are detected, so you don't ever have to worry about losing data to a computer crash, accidentally deleting files or knowing who has the latest version of a document. You can even access and edit files from any computer or mobile device via Dropbox's web interface.

Skype

Skype is another indispensable multitasker for virtual companies. Skype is best known as the software application that allows users to make free voice calls over the Internet to other Skype users anywhere in the world, but it also offers many other helpful features. Using Skype, employees can exchange instant messages, participate in group chats, hold phone and video conferences and engage in screen sharing for presentations or collaborative work sessions – all at no cost to you. You can even use Skype to conduct conference calls with customers who are on a landline or mobile phone for a nominal fee, and the audio quality is crystal-clear.

The middle ground

So you're interested in taking your company virtual, but you'd still like the prestige of giving sales presentations in a corporate boardroom? Or perhaps you'd like the personal touch of a receptionist answering your company phone line? Don't let these desires stop you from shedding the burdensome overhead of your corporate office. There's a better, more cost-effective way to enjoy the perks of an office without footing the bill to maintain a dedicated space 24/7. Virtual offices are an ideal solution if you want to take advantage of the operational efficiencies of a remote workforce but you serve a more conservative clientele. With the growing popularity of virtual companies, a new concept has emerged called the "virtual office." For less than $100 a month, you can secure a business address in a preferred area of town to publish on your company stationery, business cards and website, and your mail and packages will be received and forwarded to you. For an additional fee, you can also have a few days of private office access each month and a dedicated phone line answered by a receptionist in your company's name, with calls and messages handled per your exact instructions. You can even rent meeting rooms by the hour on an as-needed basis. Virtual offices are an ideal solution if you want to take advantage of the operational efficiencies of a remote workforce but you serve a more conservative clientele that prefers to conduct business in a traditional office setting. In addition, most virtual office services are offered à la carte, so you can easily adjust your level of service and your monthly expenses as your business needs evolve. For more information on virtual offices, a quick search on Google or Yahoo will yield a number of reputable firms, such as Regus and Davinci Virtual, that offer a wide array of highly flexible options to suit your specific needs.

Seize the day

By and large, technology has evolved faster than corporate culture, which explains why a relatively small number of companies are currently taking advantage of telecommuting. However, today, with the advent of more specialized cloud-based project management and collaboration tools and clients that are savvy to the impact of high overhead on the value delivered for each dollar they spend, the momentum is building for a virtual revolution. Shepherding your company through the transition from a traditional bricks-and-mortar office to a virtual operation is a complex process that requires buy-in on all fronts. It mandates that your managers adapt their thinking, practices and systems of communication in order to direct and coordinate teams remotely. It challenges your employees to practice the self-discipline and flexibility to work productively in a non-traditional environment. It asks your clients to make a leap of faith that your company can master the unique demands of a virtual operation and realize the benefits of greater productivity and more manageable expenses. It may not be feasible to make the leap right away or all at once. However, even if you take it one step at a time, every outmoded system that you shed is like cutting away an anchor that’s weighing your business down. Similarly, every time you replace one of these systems with a technology-based solution that helps your company and its people work smarter, you’ll be making significant strides toward building a highly evolved business model that is armed to compete aggressively in today’s marketplace.

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10 Steps to Conquering Twitter Through Trustcasting

A simplistic platform with complex rules

As a vehicle for communicating with customers, Twitter is a deceptively simple platform that, in reality, is a challenge to truly master. First, there’s the format. How do you develop meaningful relationships 140 characters at a time? There’s also the overwhelmingly expansive size of the community. With 200 million registered accounts in the Twitterverse, how do you attract followers that belong to your tribe and will help your business grow? Furthermore, there’s the staggering pace of the flow of information and dialogue. With an average of 110 million new tweets every day, how do you make a meaningful contribution? Each of these complex questions share the same answer: trustcasting. As we established in the Trust Manifesto, “In a marketplace founded by, built by and existing for the people, trust is the only fundamental currency.” The results you yield from your participation in the Twitterverse will only ever be as good as the time and effort you invest in earning trust and developing genuine relationships with others. If ever there were an ecosystem built by and existing for the people, it’s Twitter. Each user is the sole arbiter of who is and is not granted permission to be present in their feed. Each and every user is judge and jury of good and bad content; the interesting, relevant stuff gets elevated and passed along to their own networks while the boring, self-serving stuff withers and dies out quickly. The one and only way to break through is by engaging in an ongoing process of building and maintaining trust. Following the golden rule of trustcasting, everything must be centered around developing authentic and reciprocal relationships between your company and other members of the community – a process for which no shortcuts exist. The results you yield from your participation in the Twitterverse will only ever be as good as the time and effort you invest in earning trust and developing genuine relationships with others.

Here are 10 essential steps you must follow to conquer Twitter by adhering to the principles and practices of trustcasting:

1. Be one with the medium.

Before you dive in and make potentially embarrassing or even reputation-killing public blunders, observe the ways in which other more experienced users engage and interact with each other to get the lay of the land. Nothing screams “Imposter!” like someone who goes tearing through the Twitterverse like a bull in a china shop with no regard for the nuances of the community. By showing disregard for the unique language and customs of the Twitter ecosystem, you also show that you’re disinterested in serving anyone’s interests other than your own.

2. Step out from behind the corporate curtain.

While the old familiar rules of marketing would dictate that your handle should be your company name and your avatar should be your logo so that your brand is always front and center, Twitter isn’t a collection of brands on a shelf but a living, breathing community of people. If your customers encounter a faceless brand, they don’t know if the person behind the curtain is the great and powerful Oz or your summer intern. It’s much more natural for your followers to have an authentic conversation with a human being. Set up your profile with a photo of yourself and a bio that tells us more about you than your official job title while remaining transparent that you also represent a company. Make sure to let your personality to shine through and to allow your interactions display human qualities – whether it’s candor, humor, generosity or even humility. By allowing members of the community to get to know you on a personal level, you open the doors to a deeper level of engagement.

3. Find real people you can have real conversations with.

With so much buzz around the concept of influence on Twitter, it’s tempting to go chasing after the users with the highest follower counts and try to entice them into your circle, knowing that one retweet will reach thousands of potential customers. However, it’s more important to find members of your tribe – those whose interests and needs align with the products or services you offer – who will be receptive to what you have to say. A good way to find these people is to regularly search for users in your area who are talking about subjects relevant to your offering. For example, let’s say you’re a dog trainer. You could enter the search terms “puppy near:Charlotte within:20mi” to pinpoint users near you who might be interested in the tips, articles and offers you have to share. By following them or replying to their tweets when appropriate, you’ll increase the likelihood that they will follow you in return. As you build a friendly rapport with this group of core followers, others will take notice and want to join in the conversation. It will be as if you are at the head of the cool kids’ table, and they want to pull up a seat. Contrast that with a scenario in which you have amassed a list of supposedly influential users who ignore your content and never respond to you. Where did all the effort to win their follow leave you?

4. Give before you expect to receive.

The holy grail of Twitter is transforming your followers into evangelists who retweet your content through their networks and give it legs to travel far beyond your immediate circle of influence. However, you can’t expect the rewards if you don’t put in the work. It’s up to you to find or create interesting content that’s worthy of a share. Promotions and giveaways are easy fodder for sharing, but they’re not the only share-worthy material. A link to a thought-provoking article, an inspiring quotation or a helpful how-to video are also highly sharable. Even if the content isn’t originally yours, you’re doing a service to your community by finding good information and passing it along.

5. Put sales objective second to trust objectives.

Twitter is a medium, not a broadcast channel.You’ll only be successful if you approach it as a means to cultivate a tribe of people you’ll enjoy conversing with, learning from and sharing with rather than a tool to give you unlimited access to a captive audience that you can barrage with marketing messages at will. Don’t engage followers as a brand with an agenda to sell but as an ambassador for your brand with intentions of making a meaningful contribution. For example, let’s say you own a store that sells running gear. You should make it a regular practice to pass along links to local races, share articles from around the blogosphere about good running form and nutrition, offer helpful tips to users who tweet about their struggles staying motivated and give shout-outs to customers who have achieved personal milestones like completing their first 5k. Without ever posting a direct link to a product, you can allow prospective customers to reach their own conclusions that you are the kind of company they want to support when they’re ready to make a purchase.

6. Reach out.

Remember that Twitter is, in essence, one sprawling public forum. As a result, you don’t have to sit back and wait for someone to approach you. It’s perfectly acceptable to jump into the conversation, as long as you follow the rules of trustcasting in doing so. Don’t be disruptive, and don’t go straight for the kill with a hard sales pitch or a link to your website. If you see an opportunity to join in a dialogue with something insightful, helpful or even funny, go right ahead. You might get a response or a follow in return for your efforts. More importantly, over time, you’ll cultivate a reputation for being a trusted source of interesting, useful or entertaining information, and your company and your brand will reap the benefits of your perceived authority in these areas.

7. Be responsive.

Always be responsive if someone directs a question or comment your way. It’s smart to keep tabs on mentions of your name or the name of your company so that you can reply as quickly as possible. Attention spans on Twitter are short, and if hours pass before you respond, chances are good that the person has moved on, and you will have missed the window of opportunity for a good two-way dialogue. It’s also important to be an equal-opportunity responder. While it’s always fun to reply to someone who is raving about your product or service, it’s dangerous to ignore those who have complaints. Respond to your critics with sincere concern and express an earnest interest in making things right, just as you would a dissatisfied customer who was standing in front of you in your store. Even if your efforts are rebuffed or ignored, you will have done your best publicly to demonstrate that you have their best interests at heart. In trustcasting, respect for the customer is paramount.

8. Be the kind of follower you want to have.

One of the best ways to earn goodwill in the Twitterverse is to promote others’ content. When someone you’re following shares a link to a thought-provoking blog post, news article or video, retweet their content, giving them credit for their great find. Elevating other members of the community is a simple, selfless act that demonstrates that you’re there to do more than toot your own horn.

9. Let your guard down.

The best thing social media – Twitter included – has done for business is removing the barriers that once stood between companies and their customers. No longer are you bound by the restrictions of mass media channels; instead, you can interact directly with your customers on a personal level. Therefore, your participation on Twitter must follow the rules of the culture of the Web. If you insist on holding your followers at arm’s length and only allowing them to see a perfectly polished version of your company, you won’t get the most from your efforts. Instead, go with the flow and keep it real. Your tweets are essentially part of a long-running chat. Keep your tone light, casual and approachable. You can even give your followers the occasional behind-the-scenes glimpse into daily ins-and-outs of your business. If you own a bakery, and you tweet a photo of your chef hard at work making your signature dessert, it’s a great way to remind your followers that they can swing by and pick up a freshly baked, handmade treat without explicitly asking them to do so. And they’ll feel more invested in your success because they will feel more connected to the people behind the name.

10. Be patient and persistent.

You won’t be an overnight Twitter sensation. You may not ever play on the level of Martha Stewart or Ashton Kutcher. But you also don’t need millions – or even thousands – of followers to make your participation worth your while. At its core, Twitter is a high-tech version of traditional grassroots marketing. You must build your community one follower at a time. Keep your focus on the quality of your community and the depth of your interactions, both of which you must allow to grow naturally and organically. In trustcasting, there’s no substitute for honest intentions and hard work. But while earning and maintaining the trust of your followers is a more indirect path to business growth than conventional carpet-bombing sales and marketing tactics, it will ultimately allow you to achieve the greatest return in securing ownership of your market.

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