Social Media has come a long way in the last ten years. Some of the first iterations of social media came and everyone was learning together how all of the different types would fit together. Myspace stepped forward and basically killed itself with advertising and spam, and then the Facebook/Twitter/Instagram revolution hit. Business owners, marketers, and everyone else on earth has been trying to figure out how to build their brand online in social media ever since. As Cynthia talked about last week, we have seen increasingly, (especially in the last year), that the lines between search and social media, desktop and mobile, are now more blurred than ever. We understand better now, that social media is a prerequisite to any consumer business.
Unfortunately, many business owners seem to appear as if they are that desperate girl that everyone knows is just trying too hard with anyone who will give her attention. It may seem hard for a business to stand out above the noise of the social media craze, and unfortunately this can cause some businesses to partake of, or participate in, some online practices that will prove to be detrimental to them in the long run.
Quality over Quantity
Many marketing managers will insist that you get something posted every single day, and sometime even require a post two to three times a day. May I be blunt about this one? Quality posts are always going to be better than any high quantity. How do we know this, you ask? Head over to your social network feed, and take a look at the people on this feed that have recently become involved in a direct marketing or multi-level marketing company, with no prior background in marketing. You will note posts being added every four hours about how awesome their company is, right? Likely nobody is paying attention, or even more likely, people are being nauseated by this blatant disregard for people's valuable time. When you flood a social stream with your product, people simply do not like it.
Don't Buy Followers!
Another trend that in some specific cases may be okay, but is still largely a poor idea, is purchasing likes or followers. Believe it or not, average users can see through this shortcut, and it looks, sounds, and is, phony. 100k subscribers and not a single comment on your company page? All of your followers are international people even though your company is based in the US? Any of these scenarios absolutely takes away from your credibility.
Different Platforms Require Different Strategies
Another very close cousin to quality is the practice of posting the same thing on two different channels. Every social media outlet is a bit different, so make sure you have a unique caption for your post on each channel, or site. As much as it is fun to come up with something clever and put it out everywhere, this behavior will draw much more attention to the users if your prospective clients do not see a post on Facebook, then load their Twitter feed and find the exact same one. Don't be afraid to mix it up a little!
Interact with Your Community
The last thing I can recommend for the startup on social media is to have some positive interaction with your customer base if you can manage it. Responding to comments and questions in a POSITIVE manner on a public forum and social media site can give a kind of personal touch with your customers that they appreciate. When you start to show them that there is indeed a human being behind the posts from your company, they will start to take interest. Someone may generally not be thinking too much about buying from one company or another, but when the client feels that they are buying from an individual, this starts to feel like more of a special experience, like something personal.
If you have mastered these social media ideas already, and you are looking for ways to market more efficiently in person, then head over here. Implement these tips, and watch your business grow.