In his book Tweet Naked, online marketing expert and Social Media Firm
CEO Scott Levy provides the critical information entrepreneurs need to
craft a social media strategy that will boost their brand and their
business. In this edited excerpt, the author offers tips that can help
you figure out how you want the world to view your brand.
While some large, national companies, like McDonald's, are happy to
have followers from anywhere and everywhere, smaller, niche businesses
can benefit greatly from reaching people and growing a following in
their own industry. A small business in a specific town, city or region,
such as a spa that can only serve 50 people a week, may benefit more
from a select local following than a mass following of 100,000 people
from all over the world that it could never accommodate.
You need to decide whether your strategy is to build local leads, a
national following, or international branding and visibility. It's
important to keep a few things in mind when building a following:
- Your potential reach as a business. Are you trying to brand locally or internationally?
- Your resources. How much time and money do you have to
monitor--or have your staff monitor--your social media activities and
interact with followers? If you have numerous followers on Twitter but
have no time (or interest) in responding to them, you'll lose them as
brand supporters.
- The type of product or service you offer. If you're a
software manufacturer, for example, you'll want to reach as many people
as possible. But if you're selling high-end furnishings, you may be
better served with a smaller following of top designers and those who
can appreciate and afford your goods.
Here are 10 easy ways to build a following:
1. Have an excellent photo, bio and profile. Every
form of social media lets you provide some information about yourself.
Make sure your Twitter profile and bio includes a succinct mix of who
you are and what you do, but do not sell! Your photo should be a nice
close-up of you alone--preferably sporting a smile. Make sure the photo
is clear and close; if it was taken from 50 feet away, your face will
look like a dot on mobile devices. And leave the photos of family and
friends to your Facebook page.
2. Cross-promote. Let people on Facebook have your
Twitter handle, and people on Twitter find your Facebook page. Do the
same on LinkedIn and other social media sites. A recent LinkedIn thread
in a networking discussion group simply asked everyone to share their
Twitter handles--and they did.
3. Put your Twitter handle everywhere. Don't be shy
about letting everyone know where you can be found on social media. Some
folks even have bumper stickers with their Twitter handles on them. Are
personalized license plates next?
4. Reciprocate. If they like you, like them; if they follow you, follow them; and if they endorse you, endorse them.
5. Be human. Use your own identity rather than your
brand or logo. On Twitter, very often the people behind the business
have more followers than their businesses. Also connect with the people
behind other businesses; this can help you establish a relationship and
you can even talk about and cross-promote each other's companies.
6. Use photos. They can be very effective in your
Twitter tweets. Photos grab people's attention. Make sure they're good
quality and appropriate for your audience.
7. Pay attention. Each social media platform is
trying to remain fresh, new and innovative. As a result, there are new
options introduced, some of which can benefit you in your effort to
build your following and grow your brand. You may not use the many
features each social media platform has to offer, but it's worthwhile to
stay abreast of the latest development.
8. Set up a schedule. While you may monitor social
media all day long, you might not have the time to be an active
participant. If this is the case, you may want to set up a schedule to
carve out time for making your presence felt.
9. Review what's working and what isn't. If growing a
following and building your brand is your goal, you'll want to monitor
your results. If you're putting yourself out there and people aren't
responding, you may need to change your approach. If many people are
responding to your tweets on Twitter but ignoring you on Facebook, then
focus on Twitter, or vice versa.
10. Be interesting. I can't reiterate this enough:
If you're interesting and engaging, people will engage with you; if
you're boring, they won't. Choose your tweets carefully.
Building a following will take some work; the good news is, you can
do it from your office, your home or while sitting on the beach with
your trusty tablet. Remember to tweet often.
No comments:
Post a Comment