12.5 Tips for Using Social Media - Part 1

You've asked for it...now you get it. Here are my 12.5 tips for proper use of the Social Media space!

Tip #1 - Just get started                     

Many businesses are afraid of jumping into the social media space, and trying something new with their marketing. Take it from me, it is a little scary to take that leap of faith, but trust me, it’s worth it. All you have to do is just get started. It does not take a big budget to get started in social media marketing. In fact, much of social media marketing is human capital, or simply hiring an employee who is responsible for your social media maintenance. Start by listening. Look for conversations your customers are having online. Sign up for google alerts that mention your product or brand. Then, join in the conversation! Just remember to be honest, authentic and transparent and you will be fine. If you take the first steps to engage your customers in a conversation you will learn more about how your brand fits into the social media space and your learnings will help guide your future programs. Have fun and just get started!

Tip #2 -  Do you need to hire an expert?                        

Either you are just starting your social media campaigns (congratulations, by the way) or you are an old “pro” by now, but regardless of your tenure, I am sure you have asked yourself if a social media agency should be doing all this work for you? Keep in mind that there are hundreds of social media professionals out there who claim they are the experts in this ever-changing field. Many are great, but consider this. Is your agency walking the walk and talking the talk? Are the consultants you are looking to hire interacting with their consumers on facebook? Do they have a blog or a twitter feed? Judge the agency not solely on their pitch but on their actions. And most importantly, remember that the consumers want to connect with you and not your agency. So don’t just sit back and let the agency do all the talking! Engage with your customers and respond to their posts personally. That is what the “social” part is all about.

Tip #3 - Don’t fret about your follower numbers                         

How many “likers” do you have on facebook? Do you have 500+ connections on linked in? Don’t fret about the number of followers you have on your social media sites because it is not about the quantity, it is about the quality of your network. Sure, there are ways you can attract thousands of followers in a matter of days, actually, it is not that hard, but the types of followers you want are not computerized bots but rather those who will engage with your conversation and share your postings with their network of followers too! If your network is genuine fans of you and your business, 10 of them are worth more than a thousand bots. Yes, it takes a while to organically build up a great social profile, so focus on building great content while being helpful and educational. Like we say in iowa… “if you build it, they will come.”

Tip #4 - How to really listen to your customers

We spend a lot of time talking about customer outreach – using social media to send out your message and create a network. That’s the ‘talking’ part of social media. But it’s also very important to “listen,” here’s why:

• If someone says something nice about you or your product, you want to thank them
• If someone says something NOT nice about you or your product, you want to address or fix the problem
• If someone mentions you or your company or your industry in a blog, you want to respond and chime in

But how do you know if someone’s talking about you? Google alerts is one easy-to-use and free way to be notified when someone talks about you. To sign up for google alerts, you’ll need an account on google. Once you’re on the inside, go to ‘my account’ and scroll down until you see your products – you can add and delete these at will and there are many useful applications on the google platform. Click on alerts and it will walk you through the simple process. Pay attention to what notifications you receive because you may need to alter your alert parameters. This is a great place to start learning what your customers are truly saying about you and your company! It’s ok! Go be the fly on the wall! This is the one time it is socially acceptable to eavesdrop on the conversation.


Tip #5 - How to interact with your customers

Everyone knows that in order to make your social media work better you need to interact or engage with your customer. How do you do that? There are several methods to start conversations with your network. One simple way is to ask your followers to share your tweets, posts and status updates with their network so your message becomes viral. If people make comments on your links and updates, respond back to them in a relaxed, positive manner. This is a great way to react to feedback from your customers and create raving fans within your customers. Another tried and true method to making social media interactive is by adding photos and videos to your posts. Due to the size of the thumbnail image, your followers almost always will click through to view the link. Encourage them to make comments and share with their friends. Social media should be just that…social, so have fun chatting with your customers and you will sure to have a great following.

Tip #6 - 5 tips for better postings

Are you getting confused about what to post on your facebook, linked in or twitter pages? Here are five tips to making your posts better, in turn, making them more visible in the social media space.

1.) post a variety of content to attract interactions with your network of followers

2.) post regularly. Depending on your industry and your content you can post a couple times per day, but in general once per day is plenty. Too much will turn off your consumer. But remember, too many posts about YOU will cause people to UNLIKE you. That’s bad. So, rule of thumb, 1 out of 10-15 posts should be about YOU. Stick with added-value, educational or funny content that relates to your brand.

3.) post your content after working hours, like around 8pm. Studies show that more people are on facebook around 8pm, so the chances that your post will be seen are greater.

4.) post videos directly instead of links to the videos so people can view the video on facebook. And be sure to include links in video descriptions to encourage traffic back to your site.

5.) Ask questions and solicit feedback from your fans to encourage interaction. Make your social networking a social event.