You've read the articles, saw the blog postings, even heard about it in the news, 'social media networking is the ticket to any successful marketing campaign in the digital world'. So you joined the gold rush created your Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube accounts and hammered out instagram messages to the public. And the results? Sales are flat and new customers are scarce. What are you doing wrong ? Here are three tips to consider when planning and managing your social network campaign.
1. Don't Be A Promoter
For most readers the whole point of social networking is to obtain information, which they perceive as important to their daily lives, in a timely fashion. If you are pumping out self promoting messages 24/7 your subscribers will tune out quickly. Your messages should be engaging and appeal to their self interest. For example, instead of sending out an instagram with the message “Our Spring Product Line Is In Stores Today”, try “5 Fashion Accessories You Can't Live Without This Spring”. Your promotions should appeal to THEIR self interests, not yours.
2. Be Discerning In Your Message
Don't automate your blogs, Facebook page, or Twitter to crank out messages every time you post. Your readers and followers will soon turn you off. It's like crying wolf. Be discerning, don't send out fluff, send out messages with true value for your readers. For example, if you have a new product to promote, create a short YouTube video showcasing the product and list reasons why it's a must “must have” for your readers, or Tweet them with an alert that a special sale or discount is ending soon.
3. Be Engaging, Participate In The Conversations
Avoid one-way conversations. Effective social networking means you participate in the community's conversations. Your readers want feedback. You should plan to have staff that can respond to readers comments and discuss your marketing message. Use opinion polls and pose open-ended questions to draw commentary from your readers.
Follow other members of the social network, participate in their conversations and post opinions and solutions. You will become recognized and trusted as a community member.
When your readers see you have built something of value and your messages are pertinent to their interests, you'll experience and entirely new side of social media networking for marketing. That's not to say commenters will have nothing but praise. But if you are smart, you will take all comments, good and bad, to improve your business.
If managed properly, social media marketing is a fantastic tool to learn from your customers, improve your performance, and expand your business.