Social Media Marketing Guide
This basic social media marketing guide will help you build a network of enthusiastic fans and followers. Your audience will inevitably grow, but first, you need to offer something (relevant) of value.
Have Something of Value to Offer
As a publisher and/or merchant, you’re likely selling a product or service of some kind associated with your niche. Hopefully, they were created (and are supported) with integrity. If so, that same degree of integrity needs to be carried over to relevant content displayed and/or shared (if uploaded to your website) via your social networks. In fact, content is often what gets potential customers in the door.
Gone are the days of simply relying on word-of-mouth referrals. There’s just too much competition. So, how do you set yourself apart from the rest of the pack? Once again, post content… regularly. Also, make it free and publicly available. And while popular forms of content in line with your brand (such as articles, podcasts, and videos) will suffice, relatively more complex digital tools (such as apps [i.e., applications/software]) may be more effective at communicating your worth (outside of physical or service commodities) to your fans & followers.
Make it Personal
If you’re an individual marketer (meaning, not a company with dedicated staff), you’ve probably already begun using this approach. Still, many independent publishers tend to discredit this powerful method of connecting with an audience (usually for a lack of perceived professionalism).
Even large enterprises can benefit from a more personable approach in their advertising/marketing campaigns, let alone their social media channels exclusively. Steve Jobs was probably the best example of this. Specifically, in his case, he understood the frustration points of users and conveyed their solutions at events posted online. Many people think that it’s the minimalist design aesthetics that attracted people to Apple Inc.’s line of computers/phones & accessories. They’re not wrong, but it was a host of other features as well (even aside from usability, intuitiveness, simplicity, and ease of use); it was the build quality, material quality, sturdiness, packaging, high resale value, and consistent buying, maintenance, and support process.
Regardless of what makes your brand/products stronger/unique, a CEO’s job, alongside being the organization’s lead visionary, is aligning those visions with that of your users… and then delivering this collective set of ideas back to the public. It’s a lead magnet, and even more so when coming from a charismatic leader. We get that not everyone is comfortable in front of a camera or microphone, but it’s something you should do nonetheless… because there’s an element that trumps charisma; it’s you. It’s who’s tied to the company and its associated products. ‘Cause people are interested in your motivations, too.
Be Top of Mind
It’s very important to be highly visible. Regularly posting content to your social channels is obviously key, but sometimes you can infiltrate the Internet from other directions. So, while you can share your site’s content on social media, and/or post directly to your pages, profiles, and channels… doing the same with the social outlets of others is also an option. There exist industry & niche-related forums, pages, profiles, channels, and something as simple as commenting can sometimes go viral.
When you give someone a reason to get to know you (for example, if you’re offering helpful advice on a 1-to-1 [yet public] level), doing so is just a click or two away. They’ll eventually reach you at your central online hubs, as opposed to more general outlets. And as mentioned previously (and due to the rapport you’ve already initiated), if you’ve got practical and/or original products and/or services for sale, well, selling will have just become a whole lot easier.