A tweet with a link to this article crossed my path today and it caught my attention because it’s blunt about what makes Facebook count for online marketing. While the article is fairly thorough on how to make the most of Facebook as a marketing tool, I think some of the key points can be expanded to other social networks and online marketing tools as well. I’ve grabbed what I view as some of the more prominent pieces of advice and added my own thoughts.
1. Content Matters
I couldn’t agree with this more. When I talk to people who are new to the social media marketing scene, the first thing they always say is “I want to set up Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. Let’s do it all.” That’s fantastic! But what are you going to post to those sites? A significant amount of forethought needs to go into any social media campaign. For the most part, I’ve gathered content for social media campaigns from a blog associated with a brand or business. But this is not always a viable option for some businesses. If you don’t have a significant content source that will generate fresh, interesting material, you need to think carefully about how to frame your campaign.
2. Contact is Just as Important as Content
You need to have content in place to be effective as a social media marketer, but you also need to be willing to reach out and interact with people. If you think using Facebook and Twitter as virtual billboards is going to cut it, you’re wrong. That’s not to say that these tools cannot be used to disseminate relevant information or to position your brand as an industry leader and knowledge source (this is especially doable and reasonable for B2B companies, as the article notes). But, you need to remember that it’s social media and people are often a fan or a follower because they want to talk with you, not just hear from you.
Aside from creating relevant and meaningful relationships, interactions are also an important component of measuring effectiveness. The more metrics you can measure, the more you can tie back your interactions to successful conversions (or whatever your goals may be).
3. Try New Things
The article points out that the most successful pages are those that utilize features like customizable tabs and interactive components. They are correct. Anyone who is a regular to Facebook knows that the newsfeed and simple plethora of information pouring down in front of people’s faces makes them anesthetized to what may be important to them. Differentiate yourself. For some, that means using FBML to create a customized graphic to draw people in. That’s only one option. Explore the different possibilities Facebook offers. Check out the developer side of things. Do whatever it takes to grab people’s attention. Just like a news story, you’ve only got a few lines, a few seconds to make someone decide that your message is worth it.
4. Spread the Wealth
I especially like the point in the article about making social media a team responsibility. The bottom line is that you can’t please everyone, but the more voices and ideas you amplify makes it easier to grab people’s attention and keep them interested. So cast a wide net. Let multiple people be involved in strategizing and interacting with your fans and followers. You may be surprised at the response you see.
Good article. I also would say that if you want to dip your toes in the social media pond, you have to decide how transparent you want to be with your audience.
Not everyone is going to like your work, or will agree with your message. Do you want to allow criticism in public forum, or are you willing to engage the dissenters to show you are a true thought leader?
There are “trollers” on the internet – if you censor their criticism, you may have backlash. I worked for a company that was afraid of its blog receiving criticism, so all the negative comments were deleted. The poster then went so far as to blast the company in his/her own forum.