Just about every business today knows that social media is where all the people are. Facebook and Twitter are the new water cooler and cocktail party, and if you want to interact and engage with people, then the social media sites are where you need to be. Of course, you also have to know how to use these sites and how to market the right way. Otherwise, you will become the guy at the cocktail party that everyone tries to avoid because he keeps telling stories about his bunions. Even with social media, you have to market smart rather than market hard. Consider these tips.
Choose the Right Social Networks and Budget Your Time
How many social networks are out there today? Probably more than we really need. When you are focusing your efforts on marketing and communicating with people via social networks, you have to make sure that you are choosing the right sites. The most popular sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+ are all good ideas.
You do not want to join too many sites though, because you will find that you are spending far too much time worrying about social media. You need to be consistent with the social networks and post regularly, as well as check up on comments and mentions. Budget your time wisely though, and spend only about half an hour a day on those sites unless you see that it is accounting for a larger percentage of sales. Then you can spend more time.
Do Not Sell All the Time
Marketing is about selling, right? Why wouldn’t you want to try to sell all the time on the social networks? People are going to dislike you if that’s all you have to offer. Yes, you can use the sites for marketing, but you have to do it the right way. This means that you need to have the majority of your posts and contents be about things other than you or your products. Provide your fans and followers with information that is useful or fun. The hard sell is not going to work on social media sites, and it’s probably not a good idea to try it. You can develop a bad reputation, just like bunion guy, if you do.
Social media can be great, but it can be the bane of many businesses too. You have to remember to be polite on the sites, and you have to keep some of your personal opinions to yourself so that you do not alienate customers. What are some of the ways that you deal with social media for your company?
