I have seen many companies and organizations take a passive-aggressive approach to social media. They seem to get hot with a lot of activity and then cool down and lose focus all together.
It just unfolds that way. In fact, managing social media channels for most organizations of more than five people can be challenging. But it can be done when you bring a clear purpose and function to your efforts.
Don’t waste the resources you have chasing after the latest shiny object to be revealed in the industry. Get some discipline and direction. Create a posting process that keeps your social media marketing consistent. And keep that content relevant and engaging.
Here’s a simple way to focus your social media strategy by organizing your efforts into three purpose-driven categories:
1) Branding and thought leadership
To distinguish your brand, showcase your big ideas for your industry. It’s not about bragging, it’s being innovative about how you explain yourself and your vision. And please offer some inspiration. We all crave a little passion from time to time.
Food to go: Have an attitude: you will be much more memorable.
2) Promotions
Well done contests, games, and giveaways are amazing ways to engage your customers and attract new ones. In fact, social media marketing is made for this. Additionally, a promotion can quickly show tangible results and improve your overall metrics. When done right, a great or even outrageous promotion can go viral and generate great awareness. Also, remember to create an interesting prize!
Food to go: A promotion built around a super creative premise and award can take you places. Local TV news loves the unusual! So think big.
3) customer service
Wow, that’s boring, you say. I mean, aren’t you taking advantage of this advantage? Responding to customer questions, and yes even complaints, can be done effectively through social channels. I have seen some companies use Twitter as their virtual help desk, providing accurate answers in a very timely manner.
Food to go: It’s okay to reveal your warts, it makes your brand more accessible and humane.
Bonus Tip: Always have a bonus or something extra. Sure I just did that here and you can too. People love surprises and extras like free desert without warning. If you can keep it informal and spontaneous. That is really the value of social media. So dig in and take out something extra for the three approaches we talked about earlier.
