using new media

Social Media: how to not mess up

The last time I posted, I talked about what can happen when social media goes wrong. After painting an unsettling picture of what social media can do to your company, I neglected to give you some guideline to keep your social media engagement from going off the rails.

Based on the stats, it looks like a lot of companies have online marketing campaigns that could do better:

• Only 3 of the 10 most popular Facebook pages are about companies.
• Only 1 of the 10 most followed Twitter profiles is a company – and that’s Twitter itself! (this excludes, of course, celebrities)
• Over 80% of companies with Facebook pages also resort to buying ad space on the Facebook sidebar.

When you add up these facts, they tell an interesting story: despite all of the fanfare around social media communications, companies are falling back into the habit of one-way advertising and talking AT their customers – not WITH them.

Give some consistent, quality effort to your social media presence, and before too long your brand will have an active, happy online community.

Here are some basic principles to live by:

1. Responsiveness. When someone talks about your brand, talks to your brand, or mentions your brand name – respond sincerely and promptly. When consumers are talking about events (positive or otherwise), get involved by talking about it too.
2. Persona. Don’t be fake. If a message has to be edited and approved at 3 corporate levels, it will lose its authenticity. Such messages are easily detectable in the world of the internet. Employees who are interacting with consumers online should write in a way that lets their personality, and the company’s personality, shine through.
3. Details. The devil may be in the details, but details make all the difference in social media. Talk about what the president is doing at this precise moment; how many coffees the execs consume in a typical day; ask what people use your product with; you get the idea. Keep it conversational.

And one thing not to do:

1. Promote yourself. Counterintuitive? Maybe, but shameless self-promotion and blasting of corporate messages will cause your targets to unfollow, block and delete your brand. Instead, try talking and listening to your followers. Give their voices a chance to be heard, respond sincerely, and interact. Your brand’s target markets will be buzzing about you in no time.

Coming soon: some really creative social media strategies, used to promote real companies!

Tags: social media education, social media marketing ideas, using new media