Social Media is More than a Promotional Platform

A common mistake that many people make as they're diving into social media is to limit their content to promotional updates. This is reflective of the traditional marketing world, but things have changed; now we build our marketing efforts on trust, engagement, and community.

There is, of course, a time and place for marketing and promotional messages, but don't limit yourself. Broaden your scope a bit. This will make your content more appealing and lessen the burden of creation.

What type of content can and should you post?

Adjacent content: It's a pretty safe bet that if someone is following you they're interested in what you offer and their interests probably don't stop there. Share content that's tangentially relevant to your business or something involving common interests of your audience. If you are a clothing retailer, you could post about up-and-coming beauty trends or news from a major designer.

Tips and tricks: Add value to the conversation by sharing content that will make your customers' lives easier (bonus points for tips and tricks that help them use your products or services).

Responses: Not every update has to stem from original ideas of yours; you can bounce off the ideas that other people are already posting. Social media relies on conversations, so jump in and be a part of them. This is a good way to get your account and brand more visibility.

Non-promotional company information: If your company does amazing volunteer work in your community, don't be shy about sharing it! If there's a rather impressive showing at a company party, you definitely want to share that. Giving a sneak peek into the culture within an organization goes a long way to building relationships by humanizing the brand.

Job openings: Social channels can be advantageous when trying to find new talent and publicize job openings. Job seekers are increasingly using social media as a way of learning about companies and their open positions; it's a match made in Internet heaven. Get those listings out there and be sure to highlight the most important ones.

Jokes: This is a tricky one, and it's more of a branding question than anything else. First, know what your brand is and what kind of personality it embodies. If humor is not a part of that, you might avoid this type of post. It can backfire and be incredibly awkward. Always err on the side of caution with sensitive topics. Once you've made sure the humor is acceptable, make sure it's actually funny, because a bad joke is just embarrassing.

Frequency of updates

"How often do I need to update my account?" is a common question, and there is no right or wrong answer here—no best practice set in stone. It simply depends on your audience, their appetite, and what you have to say. It's best to test and see what works best for you and your audience on each platform.

One universal fact is that social media status updates don't last long. The half-life of a tweet is around 18 minutes for most users. This doesn’t mean you should post that often, but that sending an update out doesn't mean it will remain visible for a long time. Users move on to more recent items in their newsfeeds quite quickly. So, keep an eye on how long your users are engaging and sharing something.

Again, it all depends on what is appropriate for your organization. News organizations or media publications could easily be expected to update multiple-to-many times per day, whereas a clothing retailer may turn off users. You definitely don't want to talk just for the sake of talking; if you don't have anything of value to add, don't post updates just to meet a quota. But, you do want to make sure your account updates regularly enough to entice users to follow along.

Engaging Your Audience

Ask for help: Want your community to help or participate in a particular way? Sometimes it's as simple as asking. If you've earned their allegiance by building value and investment into the relationship, you can ask for survey participation, product feedback, or whatever else you need.

Keep it simple: Too many options may as well be no options. If your audience isn't on a certain network, why would you promote that sharing option on your content? Conversely, if your main focus is B2B, you may (for example) not need to include Pinterest as a sharing option. Look at your social audience and match up your offerings with their behaviors.

Cross-promote for discoverability: There's nothing worse for a user than not being able to find your content. Ensure your blog is linked to your social properties. Keep all of your profile names the same across all social channels. Develop and sell a unique value proposition for each account. Why would a customer need to or want to follow you on Twitter, if they already follow you on Facebook? Make sure you give them a reason.

Monitor and listen: Monitor social channels as frequently as you can. Utilize services that will help push notifications to you so you can ensure you're not missing meaningful conversations across the web. There are countless apps for Twitter and Facebook available, and you can set up alerts, as well. Often the admin tools of various platforms will have this functionality built in. As you monitor, genuinely listen to what your customers tell you and respond accordingly.

Gamify: People enjoy competition and like being rewarded for achievements. Do a like and share contest for a chance to win tickets, a gift card, a free consultation.  Whatever works for your organization.

Social media is a great marketing tool – if it’s done right.  Inundating your platforms with useless information, posts, tweets, etc. is just downright annoying.  Be relevant!  If you need help developing your social media plan, contact the experts at SK Consulting!