10 Best Marketing Practices for Social Media
A random perusal of all Twitter users will reveal that there is no dearth of experts in the field of social media, all plying their wares on the website. (Meditation gurus, spiritual guides and self-help aids appear to be a close second.) How are you going to stand out from the crowd, and connect with people that can benefit your business and enrich your life at the same time?
Effectively Applying Your Brand to Social Media
1. Size doesn’t really matter. What matters is the quality of audience over quantity. Would you prefer to have 150 followers who are select decision-makers in your type of industry, or would you choose to have an undefined, mass audience of about 10,000 followers on Twitter? Do your homework for identifying and cultivating the right audience, even if the same entails slower organic process of ad hoc audience development. At any cost, avoid all the bulk offers and such schemes on Twitter for gaining thousands of instant followers.
2. Formulate a plan. Identify and fix your goals. Work on understanding and formally defining your target audiences and desired results.
3. Keep it as simple as possible. Ponder over every message that you post: Is my content keeping with the needs of my desired audience? Does it support the message I want to convey? Is this post helping to serve my original goal? It is pretty easy for mixing and confusing messages in the world of information clutter.
4. Stay original. Share items of value and true thought leadership instead of relentlessly sending and duplicating predictable, rather derivative fodder that can be commonly found online. Always strive to offer benefits and values in the form of news with analysis, information and education, tips, advice, etc…
5. Be creative and engage people. Develop content which the prospects find compelling, and also interact frequently with them. Grab attention with bold and unique ideas. Social media is no more different than a cocktail party where all are mostly strangers. The idea is pretty simple – just throw yourself at it.
6. Remain authentic. Allow your personality to shine through. Social media tools such as Facebook can be much less formal, and as well earn more trust by way of a simple, sweet, dressed-down presentation of just who you really are. Being personable is especially appealing in these days when people stuck in an office or at a desk crave social connections. So marketing without the spit and polish can really be anti-advertising, which people love.
7. Create and deliver value. Keep working at it. If it doesn’t look serious to you, it will probably appear the same to everyone else. Ensure that the opinions or ideas you are sharing are insightful, thoughtful comments that generate benefits or value for the reader.
8. Always listen and learn. Look for ways to understand your audience, where they are and what they need. Are they on Google Groups, Twitter, Facebook? There isn’t any better way for improving and cultivating your own practice by looking at the social media users and best-in-class authors whom you admire and follow.
9. Hook up with like-minded users. Welcome engaging conversation. Nurture a relationship and inquire about their needs and goals, and share yours in return. One good example of this is the Twitter. It is not just a broadcasting media and there is no need to think of it only as a megaphone for transmitting your latest and greatest thinking. Feel free for getting involved socially with those people you admire, and those Twitterers who share your interests.
10. Schedule time. Any serious social media program will need extra budget and time for any organization. It needs a commitment emanating from the top level and a discipline for nurturing the channels daily. These media users have become more fleeting than ever before and the websites offer an opportunity to establish a steady and fluid dialog with all your customers. Embrace that and ensure that you consistently deliver.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sera Filson is a writer, entrepreneur and professional student who’s currently pursuing a B.A. in Business Management. She manages her busy life by staying organized with Outlook, which uses Intermedia’s Hosted Exchange.
