People love to throw around the phrase “social media marketing.” Hell, I’m now nineteen words into this article and I’ve already mentioned it twice. But what makes social media such a crucial advertising option? And more importantly, how can a company profit off the current social media craze?
To answer these questions, I interviewed our social media experts to get an inside opinion on what makes social media marketing a worthwhile investment. And now, this information is yours to enjoy. Let’s get to the goods:
#10. Being Social
Here’s a redundant statement: you have to be social during a social media marketing campaign. The problem is, too many companies view social media as a one-way conversation. They put out content and then ignore customer responses. Companies that view social media sites as an open conversation are the ones succeeding and selling to customers, because they’re interacting, engaging, and making impressions.
#9. Valued Content
Successful social media campaigns give people something worth sharing. An article, a photo, a video – it doesn’t matter the medium, all that matters is it adds something to a user’s life, be it happiness or sorrow or an educational tidbit. People want to tell each other about interesting things. But the thing has to be interesting enough to be told to others. Don’t just throw together a half-assed video and expect it to go viral.
#8. Accessible
A large part of being social is being accessible. After all, people cannot be social if you aren’t available to talk. You need to continually check your social media accounts for updates or notifications, because one missed Tweet or Facebook post could result in a lost customer. Don’t become obsessed, but definitely be committed to your accounts.
#7. Patience
Similar to search engine optimization, social media marketing success doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, some companies have had to keep their accounts active for years before they attracted attention. It’s all a matter of being patient and believing in your company’s products or services. Continue pushing quality content and people will eventually discover you.
#6. Focused Marketing
Successful companies use their social media accounts like magnifying glasses for their messages. They stay focused on specific topics relevant to the company’s products or services. Quite simply, a highly-focused content marketing strategy is much more powerful than one utilizing a broad topic approach.
#5. Relevant Companies
If you provide worthwhile content that attracts an audience, you may even attract the attention of a relevant company within your industry, which may then share your content with their followers. Of course, you could also contact such companies to attempt a content sharing negotiation. Having another authority within the industry share your content could create a huge increase in your account’s followers.
#4. Narratives
As mentioned before, creating quality content is vital to a social media marketing campaign’s success, but it goes even further than that: content must tell a story. People love reading about stories, seeing stories, sharing stories – we’re a story-based culture. If you can craft a long-term content strategy that follows a single narrative, such as telling how your company got started or how a specific product was developed, people will follow along. They’ll want to see how the story progresses and concludes.
#3. Be Truthful
It’s cliché for a reason: honesty is always the best policy. Talk to your customers like you’d talk to friends and family. Lying or hiding information creates distrust and a lack of transparency, which can drive customers away. Honesty instills respect into customers, because it shows them that you care about their opinion. And people know when a company is being honest or covering something up.
#2. Empathetic Responses
When a company has hundreds or thousands of followers, it can be hard to remember that those numbers are all people. Each one is an individual trying his or her best within this wild world. Giving one of your followers a worthwhile, personal response could be the needed impression to convert them into a loyal customer, because it shows you recognize their existence and took the time to give them a meaningful response.
#1. Listening
Lastly, the most important part of a successful social media marketing campaign is to listen to your customers. Hear what they’re saying and acknowledge it. Don’t just brush it off and move on with your day, because your customers will do the same to you. And by “listen,” I don’t mean argue. I mean actually listen. Hear their complaints and comments, think about them, and then give an honest response in return. People appreciate it when you take a moment to hear what they have to say.