Set up a Facebook, twitter or other social network account and never post to it or update it.
Sure you took the time to create your network. Maybe you even updated and interacted for the first couple of months. However, if you have stopped updating and interacting you may be sending a worse message to your customers than if you had not started with social media in the first place. When it comes to your outdated or inactive social sites you have 2 choices: 1). Start to take time to update and interact, or hire someone who can do it for you. 2). Shut it down. Don’t wast your time or your customers time with an inactive and non-value added network. You are simply making your company look bad so you might as well take down your page so you don’t send the wrong message to your fans and followers.
You only sell sell sell. Never adding value.
When all you do is push your own products and services your fans and followers will get board and block you. If you want to succeed in social media you need to create value for your followers. Encourage them to post and engage with each other and your company on your network pages and help them. The more helpful you are the more likely they will use your company when they need your products or services. When it comes to pushing your products and services it’s always best to go by the 80/20 rule. 80% value added and conversational and 20% sales.
Not putting social media buttons on your website.
Sure you say you want to be involved in social media. Yeah you want to engage your followers and fans in new and innovative ways. So if that is the case why are you making it so hard for your customers to find you on the social networks they enjoy? Many people will go to a company’s website looking for directions to the Facebook page, blog, and Twitter page for that company. They want to see what you are all about, see what others are saying and see if they want to do business with you. When you do not have those links/icons on your website you are making them work and people do not like to work to find you. Make it easy on them and on yourself. If you are using social media to market your business, go ahead and add the icons and links to your website.
Not listening or interacting with your fans and followers.
If all you do is post and sell and pitch and auto post then you are missing out. Take the time to engage your followers by checking in daily or at the very least weekly and talk with your fans. Thank people for comments and likes and ReTweets and blog comments. Encourage conversation. Ask questions. Be engaging. Be real. People are far more likely to do business with people they like and trust. Build the trust by being active and real.
Don’t use email to help build your social media following.
So you took the time to set up your Facebook page but now you are wondering how to get fans and “likes.” Start with the people you already do business with and send out an email. Introduce your new page to your email database and think about offering an incentive. “Like us on Facebook and we would like to give you 10% off your next purchase/service” or something like that should do the trick. Also be sure that anytime you send an email that you invite people to share it on the social networking and invite them to like you on your Facebook page or follow you on Twitter.
harsha
December 22, 2010
I appreciate the content, but “Can anybody tell me something which I don’t know?” 90% of all the social media related blogs emphasize on the same basics, again & again. I’m awaiting something new in the field of social media but everyday I come across blogs/information like these, which I’ve already come across on zillion’s of websites/blogs previously. I request all you social media authors/publishers/bloggers to try & improvise the content being posted. I suggest you to research, analyze & post content.. which is unique, informative & not repetitive. I want to read about the latest breakthroughs in the field of Social Media & wanna know the stuff which I’ve never come across before… something which will showcase about the latest developments in social media & provide me trivia about taking social media to the next level.
Please don’t take this as any form of criticism, Being a Social Media Marketer myself, I’m just trying to explain, what exactly fellow social media enthusiasts like me .. need in real.
Thanks & Regards,
Harsha.
facebook.com/harsha85
http://www.linkedin.com/in/harsha85
twitter.com/harsha85
Kelly Noble
December 22, 2010
Harsha,
While appreciate what you are saying, many of the people who read blogs like this are looking for the 101 basics. These are people who would hire someone like me to help them take their social media to the next level. No offense but the reason no one writes about the stuff you are asking about is because we do not want to give away that information since it is how we get paid and run our business. I assume that since you consider yourself a social media marketer you already know the things you are asking for. If not then I suggest you not read blogs like mine which are written for the beginner or novice in mind and not the social media experts that are flooding the market.
The greatest thing about social media is that it is always changing and if I had to give advice to anyone looking for “more” that would be stay with the new trends. Study the market. Know about people and care. It may seem silly and trivial but in reality no social media campaign will succeed without first having the ground work and second truly wanting to help your customers, caring about them and working to build relationships.
Social media is just like real life. You still need to be real, honest and true for people to want to work with you. People work with the people they know and trust.