Archive for the ‘Social Media Marketing’ Category
Inherent within human communication is the need for a response. This is no less true for thousands of bloggers who write to share information, as well as evoke comments from their readers. However, what is a blogger to do when blog readers are not forthcoming with their responses? For the concerned blogger, here are some suggestions that will help encourage blog readers to post their comments.
1. Know Your Audience – The most effective human interaction occurs between a speaker who knows how to best communicate to a particular listener. In blogging, writing content that is irresistible to a specific audience will compel the audience to respond. Blog content, regardless of the topic, should address the Who, What, Where, When and Why of its readers.
2. Understand The Emotional Quotient – Standing ovations are the product of an audience being emotionally affected by what has been communicated from the stage. This physiological response is directly tied to our Emotional Quotient or investment in a particular topic. Politics and sports are prime examples of high EQ topics. If the subject matter of a blog holds a high EQ for the blogger, there is a greater likelihood of drawing a readership with similar EQ levels, who will then respond accordingly.
3. Create New and Innovative Content – There is little impetus for blog readers to comment on material that has already been churned on a number of other blog sites. This does not mean that every blog has to reinvent the wheel on a particular topic. It does mean, however, that the topic needs to be written in order to add value to a targeted readership. The same social media information that is written for a blog directed toward Accountants should be very different from how it is written for Online Marketers.
4. Simplify The Comment Process – Eliminating barriers to a quick response will result in a greater number of comments. Instead of requiring a log-in, consider a post comment pop-up with an invitation to join the blog community. In addition, offer fill-in comment fields after every article and not just at the end.
5. Personalize Content and Comments – If the ultimate purpose of the blog is to create a community around a particular subject matter, then employ personal pronouns in both the content and blogger responses. This will be more conducive to building a relationship with the blog readers and make them more comfortable in posting their comments.
6. Make The Request- Somewhere in an opening boilerplate statement, invite your blog readers to post their comments. Women in particular offer their opinions more readily when first asked to do so. An invitation will offer some assurance that comments are indeed most welcome.
7. Respond Promptly -The need for a response is a two-way street. Reward your blog readers who comment with a response, even if it is only a Thank You. People like to be acknowledged for their efforts and will continue to comment as a result.
8. Set Changeover Schedule – Let the readership know when they can expect new content and stick to a predetermined schedule. Blog readers become easily bored and will move their attention to another site without hesitation. Energized readers are more likely to comment as well.
9. Survey Your Readers – Trends change quickly, even for blogs. As a result, it is very important to stay ahead of any shifts in blog readership. Periodically offering a short survey will help to determine if the blog is keeping up with blog reader interests.
10. Track and Analyze Comments – Noticing changes in the tone and frequency of blog comments can help determine whether the blog is directly meeting the needs of its readers. As EQ levels fall, so too will the comments, as well as the readership.
You are invited to offer your comments on this post! What are YOUR reasons for commenting or not commenting on a blog?
Twitter can be a powerful tool for spreading your message far and wide. A good number of RTs or @mentions can drive traffic to your website, help increase your social media presence, and make consumers more aware of your brand.
But the key to getting your message distributed as far as possible on Twitter is to have popular users on your side who can help you reach the masses. Think about this: Who would you rather have RT your content somebody who has 10 followers or somebody who has 150,000 followers? Obviously, you want the person with all of the followers to RT you so more people will be exposed to your message.
In short, it all comes down to influencing the influencers. Unfortunately, a lot of Twitter users try to do this and fail miserably.
Here are some key mistakes to avoid when interacting with Twitter influencers.
1. Constantly bombarding them with “Please RT” — Look, you’re not the only one trying to get the attention of these Twitter influencers. There are others just like you who understand that if they can get in good with top Twitter users, they can have a powerful network for pushing their content. So, don’t bombard power users with “Please RT” over and over. That’s not the way to get their attention and turn them into an ally.
2. Not taking the time to listen — Hopefully, your parents taught you to listen before you speak. Same thing applies to Twitter. Before you start reaching out to the influencers, take time to listen to them. Read their Tweets. Pay attention to the links and type of content they tend to share. In short, get to know them.
3. Responding to every Tweet they send out — Yes, it’s important to engage in conversations with Twitter influencers, but you don’t want to come across as being desperate. Don’t respond to everything they Tweet. Pick your spots. Only respond if you have something to say that brings value to the conversation.
4. Not focusing on building a relationship — There are no shortcuts in social media. You have to put in the time to build an honest relationship with Twitter influencers. Once you actually have that relationship, then you can start to expect the benefits that come with it.
Have you had any success reaching out to Twitter influencers? How did you do it?
With over 500 million users, Facebook is getting harder and harder for businesses to ignore. Long gone are the days when saying “my customers aren’t on Facebook” was a valid excuse for rejecting social media marketing. The truth is they’re out there, and you need to join them.
But marketing on Facebook requires a different set of rules than traditional marketing. Here are some tips to help you out.
1. Avoid typical one-way marketing techniques — Facebook users aren’t going to respond to you shouting at them to “Buy! Buy! Buy!” That’s not what Facebook marketing is about. It’s about interacting with your customers and engaging them on a personal level. It’s about earning their trust and building relationships.
2. Check the rules before holding a contest on Facebook — Facebook contests can be very effective for getting your customers to participate, but before you start a contest, make sure your read the Facebook Promotions Guidelines. Ignoring them could land you in a heap of trouble.
3. Experiment with Facebook ads — Facebook ads can actually be highly targeted and very effective. And they’re pretty cheap too. I also recently saw a special that Facebook was running giving new advertisers an instant credit (I think $50) when they sign up. So, mess around with the ads and see what results you can generate.
4. Include a Facebook widget on your blog — This one is as easy as it gets. Put a Facebook button on your blog so that readers can “like” your posts and share them with their friends. Sociable is a good WordPress plugin for doing this.
5. Highlight your personality — Social networks aren’t the place for you to be all serious and corporate. No one wants to interact with a dull corporation. Be personable, and interact with your customers on a personal level. You know, like a human being.
6. Update regularly — If you aren’t updating your Facebook page on a regular basis, you might as well be invisible. People will forget about you. So stick around, and stay involved in the conversation.
7. Participate on other pages — Sometimes, you have to go outside of your own page to get anything done. Visit other industry-relevant pages and stay active around the web.
Does your business do any Facebook Social Media Marketing? Which tips would you add to this list?
Thinking about taking your brand social? There are a lot of benefits to be gained, but if you make any of these common mistakes, your social media marketing efforts could do more harm than good.
Here are 7 social media screw ups to avoid.
1. Not interacting with others — Engagement is essential for social media success. You have to interact with others if you want to make a splash with social media marketing. That means taking the time to respond when people talk to you, being insightful in your comments, and trying to build relationships with your audience.
2. Not being authentic — Social media demands that you be more authentic and transparent. It’s about connecting with customers on a more personal level, so that you aren’t just some big, faceless corporation to them. That’s one of the reasons I’m against ghost tweeting. Having a social media “professional” Tweet under your company’s name is like lying to everyone.
3. Treating social media like a traditional advertisement — Social media is a conversation. Conversations require both people talk. That means you can just start blasting one-way advertisements at everyone. You have to tone it down several notches and instead focus on adding value to the conversation.
4. Being unable to handle criticism — Whether you’re starting a blog or getting on Twitter, you’re going to run into people who have negative things to say about you and your company. It’s one of the great things about social media. It puts everyone on a level playing field. Consumers get to say what they want. If you don’t have thick skin, this can be a problem. You’ll respond unprofessionally, and just make everything worse than it already is.
5. Diving in without getting a feel for the field — The “bull in the china shop” approach never works with social media. You can’t just sign up for a new community (whether it’s Twitter, Digg, or whatever else), and immediately expect to be a top influencers. Every community works differently, and each has its own set of unwritten rules. That’s why you have to spend time studying the network you’re going to join before you start taking part in the conversation.
6. Careening toward social media burnout — Stop me if you’ve heard this story before. An exec comes into the office, announcing he wants to socialize the brand. He signs up on Twitter, Tweets at a feverish pace for a couple of weeks, gets frustrated with a lack of progress/results, and quits, deeming social media to be nothing more than a fad. To be successful, you need to really do your homework, and you need to stay committed to it for the long haul.
7. Disappearing. Reappearing. Disappearing again — Imagine you started dating someone, but you only got to see them in brief spurts every few days and sometimes every few weeks. It’d be pretty hard to build a relationship, don’t you think? The same concept applies to social media marketing. You can’t show up, then disappear for a stretch of time, and show up again, expecting people to pay attention to you.
What are some other social media marketing mistakes you’ve seen? Share your experiences by leaving a comment.
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Every day, tens of thousands of new users sign up for a Twitter account. If you’re new to Twitter, you want to make sure you don’t shoot yourself in the foot, looking like a complete Twitter Noob. That’s why you need to avoid these 7 mistakes.
1. You only update once a week—Building a successful Twitter presence requires consistently providing quality content to your followers. Remember, it’s called “social media.” It’s all about establishing solid relationships. You can’t expect to build relationships or credibility by Tweeting rarely.
2. Every Tweet is a pitch for your company—Just because you’re using Twitter to further your business doesn’t mean every Tweet should be an advertisement for your company. Self-promotional Tweets add no value to your followers and it’s completely the opposite of the concept of social networking.
3. You don’t have an avatar—Seriously, nothing screams “Noob!” like the default brown Twitter avatar.
4. Every Tweet says “Please RT”—Asking for a ReTweet on every post completely negates the purpose behind “Please RT.” Only ask for RTs when it’s for something truly important. Otherwise, people will begin to completely ignore your requests and eventually you.
5. You don’t interact with anybody—I’ve already said it a couple of times in this post, but I’ll say it again: It’s called “social networking.” Sending out a bunch of one way Tweets will get you nowhere fast. You need to spend time networking with others, interacting with your followers, and laying the groundwork for useful relationships.
6. Your bio is non-descriptive—Many times, the bio in someone’s profile is what convinces me if I should follow them or not. So, make sure your bio describes who you are and what you do. Include relevant keywords that your target audience would look for.
7. Auto responding to new followers—Sending out a canned auto reply every time someone new follows you is impersonal and a little spammy (especially if your auto response is a pitch for your products and services). If you don’t have the time to personally send a short DM or @ Tweet to your new followers, then instead focus on getting to know them over time.
What other mistakes to Twitter noobs make? Add your favorites in the comments.
Related Posts:-
How to Stop Wasting Time and Start Being Successful with Social Media
10 Reasons You Should Use Twitter
19 Handy Twitter Mashups and Tools
How to Build Strong Relationships on Twitter
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