Social Media is not only popular; it’s fun and can be a great tool when used the right way. The key to achieving success lies in understanding the social nature of Social Media, and by engaging in it in a relational way. Through offering relevant and interesting interactions to your clients, followers, friends and would be’s, you can not only benefit from the marketing potential of Social Media, you can also truly build relationships and networks on all levels of your business.
We’ve put together some tips for getting your Social Media marketing off the ground. Read on and discover how to get the most out of platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and more:
Social Media marketing is a conversation. It’s more like having a drink at the bar or talking over a cup of coffee with a potential client or partner. It’s not about ramming sales pitches into every possible opening. It’s about knowing who you are as a business, and interacting with your audience in a very genuine and personal way. The idea is to create a compelling presence that people will be interested in being a part of, a place that provides extremely relevant content like videos, pictures, articles and comments...on topics that your audience is interested in.
This is an important step that you won’t want to skip. Similar to the process of developing your business persona, developing a rule set is basically its extension. It is the ethics, values and parameters of your engagement through Social Media. It can be pretty in-depth for some organizations and fairly straight forward for others. It depends partly on the business you’re in, the potential for controversy and the audience you are engaging. What you want to have at the end of this step is a set of guidelines that outlines what you accept or do not accept, and how you will respond to different situations, as well as the types of content you will be releasing.
As a business, the same as it is for individuals, it’s important to stay true to your values and ethics. Make a point of sticking to your guidelines and being consistent in your tone and speech. You want your business to be active in Social Media as a person—you can be professional, but always personable. It needs to be consistent, and people need to know what to expect as far as your persona is concerned. Make sure that when there is conflict or controversy that you deal with it openly and fairly. It is an opportunity to shine!
Social Media takes time. Real time. You have to be present daily, and you have to be consistent about your content and frequency. Be sensitive to your audience, and tailor your content and activity to fit with their interests and behaviours. If you don’t have the time to take care of a Social Media marketing strategy, hire an Internet marketing company who can do it for you. Don’t get things rolling and drop the ball! To find out more about Social Media marketing, be sure to come back and read Part Two of our Social Media guide.
