How Does Social Media Work?
To some social media seems like this mysterious way of marketing via the internet. But its really very simple. The goal of social media is to engage your current customers and your potential customers in an online form. Depending on your type of business this can take many different forms. The word being thrown around the most is “Engagement” but what does that mean, really? It means having an online conversation with your customers andreallyhearing what they are saying.
Social media, is not just a set up an go thing. You can not, as a small business set up a Facebook page and think that this is all you need to bring in new business. It takes time and cultivation of your current clients who will then lead you to your new clients, because their friends and associates saw that they liked you or watched you and shared something wonderful you had to say.
There is the key word when it comes to social media, its “Sharing” something basic, that we were all taught in kindergarden. In the case of social media it means the sharing of information. At first we were just sharing snap shots of our mega sandwhich, then we started sharing ours kids achievements and things we thought were funny. Now, social media is being used to share business ideas and innovations, which is sparking people to be even more creative in how they get the attention of those that matter, which are your customers and potential customers.
Because of the vast amount of information that is out there, it is more important then ever to find a way to be seen and also be heard. But even that can not be some long convoluted article, information has to be concise and to the point. I see social media as this ever evolving and growing river. It takes twist and turns and the current of information is running faster and the banks of the river are over flowing. For your potential client you must become the lifesaver that is thrown to them, the trusted and true company that will provide the services or product they have been swimming upstream to find.
So how does a company accomplish this?
1.Make social media a springboard to launch your newest product or service.
It use to be that when a company had something they wanted to announce they would hold a press conference, send out massive emails, or call the newspapers and hope the story would be picked up. Use your social media pages to create a build up and then announce, work at getting an online conversation going using Twitter or Facebook.
2.Survey your customers.
Market research is vital to product developement, but if you just take a moment to listen to what your customers are saying on social media, you will get a clear picture of what you and your company can be doing to fill the need, support a cause, or enhance the experience of the customer. Its not just finding out what they didnt like, its also about finding out where their interest are and incorporating those into your marketing strategy or plan.
3.Building Trust.
Becoming that life saver in the rushing torrent of information, means your customer trusted you and took the offered hand to pull them out. Staying on top of whats going on in your industry and placing your company in the middle of the social media conversation as a source of information and insight, builds trust with your current clients and also lets them see that they as a customer have made the right choice in using you and will share that with friends.
If you are wondering how you will have time to handle all this and run your business? you might want to consider a social media manager. Its not something you want to trust to that college intern, because they love to be on instagram. This is a person that understands the marketing strategy of your company. This is a person who you trust to be your voice on all social media and will seek out all possible venues and stages to highlight you or your company.
Source: Pace Feed
