- Starting the Conversation
- Becoming Part of the Community
- Responding to Comments
- Monitoring Other Conversations
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Like this article? We recommend
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Becoming Part of the Community
Social networks like Facebook are big online communities. Your challenge as a marketer is to infiltrate and become part of these communities. You can't just sit back and wait for customers to come to you; you also won't succeed if you insist on broadcasting static messages.
To that end, social marketing requires active participation. That's because social media is a two-way street. You can't just ask for attention; you have to provide something in return.
In most instances, that something is your own input—comments on posts or status updates, joining in on discussion threads, and the like. You have to become an active member of the community to be taken seriously.
You also need to move off your own pages and feeds and participate across the social networks. On Facebook, that means reading and participating in pages that are relevant to your business; on Twitter, it means finding and commenting on feeds that are similarly relevant. These could be pages and feeds from other business, topic-oriented groups, or even individuals that are visible players in the community. Find out who the players are and then join in on their conversations.
For example, if you work for a clothing retailer, become a fan of your suppliers' Facebook pages and Twitter feeds. Seek out groups that have to do with fashion-related topics. Identify the major contributors to these groups and add them to your personal friends list. Build a network of people interested in what you do and establish ongoing contact with them.
And when you're participating in these other conversations, you can't be blatantly promoting your business. It's no good to leave a comment along the likes of "Great post! Look for our new clothing line in stores near you." That's self-serving and doesn't do anybody any good. Instead, you need to contribute relevant and useful comments; you have to advance the conversation, not hijack it.
To this end, one of the best things you can do is to offer helpful advice. If you can personally be helpful in a social conversation, benefits will accrue to you and the company you represent. Become known as a helpful person, and you'll build a loyal following of your own.