Need a way to engage customers online? Here are 4 ideas to start building relationships, traffic, and profit by interacting on social networks:

1. Let fans tell your story.

Satisfied customers are often happy to promote your brand for you.  Ask clients to videotape a testimonial for the brand, product, or even a particular employee. Post the video on the front page of your web site, on the company blog, or share it on YouTube. Add another layer of engagement by asking customers, vendors, and others to vote for their favorite video submission.

2. Incentivize engagement.

The saying goes that you have to give a little to get a little. Get more out of social media by offering customers something in exchange for interacting with your brand. Share a Twitter-only coupon with followers; ask an influential blogger for feedback on a new product, etc. If you ask customers to vote on user-generated content, award a gift certificate to the fan favorite as well as a random voter.

3. Get some game.

Jason Sutherland, founder of business community portal Peninsula Shops, created a Twitter game to engage area small business patrons, according to Inc. Each day he tweeted a trivia question about a local business; correct answers were entered into a drawing for a prize, such as a gift certificate. Participating business owners reported boosts in a number of areas, from sales to web traffic.

Try your own Twitter treasure hunt by asking customers to answer a question. It can be something that drives them to your website (what is our soup of the day?) or a question that drives foot traffic (what color scarf is Maxine the server wearing today?).

4. Go for the mobile crowd.

With geolocation apps increasing in popularity it might be time to engage mobile users with promotions. Offer a free item to the first 10 customers to “check in” with Foursquare or Facebook Places during the day. Or drum up traffic during a slow period by offering a discount for those who “check in” during those hours.

Foursquare users who check into a location the most frequently during a period of time earn the honorary title of mayor. Offer your biz location’s mayor a special discount or upgrade good for their tenure.

Social Strategy1 will help you get started.

An ROI building social media campaign starts with a strategy that aligns with your brand’s goals. From social media optimization to sentiment analysis, Social Strategy1 is the total media monitoring outsourced solution that will manage your web presence. Contact us to learn how we’ll help you craft a results-driven social media strategy.