UpStepWeb Wednesday: Don’t Let Social Become Stagnate
Posted on | December 16, 2009 | No Comments
In the beginning stages of the social networking era, which arguable began around 2 years ago with the rise in popularity of Twitter and Facebook, we couldn’t get enough of being “social” on the web. Whether for personal or business, many of us (including me) probably logged on a half-dozen times per day to tweet or post status updates on a zillion topics. All that activity quenched some need or void in us, one that I’m not sure anyone has been able to define. Suffice to say, social networking has lived long beyond the typical fad life-cycle and is, no doubt, here to stay. However, there is a risk of stagnation, of a leveling-off of use, that we, as business professionals who use social media, need to be aware of eliminate the majority of our target markets deciding to log on less frequently.
I’ve come up with these important practices that businesses should follow to maintain and grow their social networks:
- Be Transparent: On your Facebook Page and in your Tweets, don’t be afraid to share information about your company, people, products and services that you think your fans, followers, and observers would like to know about. Treating your social networking like a window into your business that you might not share on your website or other marketing channels provides your customers a level of insight that they will appreciate. Most of all, transparency makes you HUMAN, not a cold, corporate name that is un-relatable.
- Be Frequent: It looks really bad when you post a tweet or update Facebook once a month or less. Your fans and followers will appreciate frequent (at least every other day) updates if they are INTERESTING and NEWSWORTHY. Quality will always outlast Quantity, so as long as you are immersed in the goings-on of your business, and news related to your business field, then it will be easy for you to tweet and post interesting updates on a semi-daily basis. If you can’t do this, then you need to re-evaluate your mission on the social networks and consider opening up the topics you are comfortable discussing, and more importantly, re-evaluate what your customers are interested in.
- Be Multi-Faceted: Please don’t just post or tweet articles you find on the Web, or just share clever observations. Variety is the key. Try integrating your blog into your Facebook Page. Try adding Flickr and a Twitter feed to your Facebook Page. Try a daily update on Twitter of what you’re seeing happening in your business field. Most of all, be multi-faceted in what you share. Only 30% of what you share on the social networks should be about YOU! The other 70% should be about topics that relate to your products and services — information and resources that your customers and prospects would find useful. Example: If I have a Facebook Page about my golf products business, only 30% of the time should I post photos and links to my golf store and announce special prices or new products. The other 70% should encompass golf news, insider news on the sport that may be posted elsewhere but would be intriguing to those who follow golf, etc.
The main point I’m making here is: Be a member of your community. If you become a trusted resource and member of your community, when you do decide to directly mention or sell your products and services, your community will be far more open to buying.Up
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