Social Media started as a way for people to connect to each other on a personal level, however over time it has proven to be a great way for businesses to connect with customers. The most important thing that any business must remember when it comes to using Social Media as a part of their advertising plan is DO NOT over advertise. If you simply post sales related material on your fan page then followers WILL remove you from their list. I find that the most effective way is to post interesting videos, quotes, short stories, questions, and pictures. I would advise posting sales material about two to three times in a week. You have to put your personality into the market, interact with people ask questions, respond to their post,direct messages, comment and share.
Mistakes that most people make when it comes to Social Media is:
- Not Posting Consistently: One should have a plan of posting at least one to two post a day.
- Slow Response Time: You should respond to customer questions or DM ( direct messages) with in 24 hours
- Not Branding Across the Board: Make you sites match in look feel and color.
- Link Your Sites Together: Connect your Social Sites together so they complement each other.
- Plan Ahead: Have a good strategy as to what sites will or will not work for your nitch.
- Optimization: Use key words in description area on the sites that allow it. Make sure every thing is filled out completely.
- Lack of Interaction: Share other peoples post, like, follow, comment and carry on a conversation.
If you work the Social Media opportunity the right way your network will grow and customers will come back. It is all in how you work the market and how much you allow your personality to shine that will make the difference in that next sale or customer connection. So if you are planning to use Social Media as an advertising tool, plan ahead, cover all of your research and make it work for you.
For example:
- families.com: A Social Site for parents.
- tumblr.com: A Blog Site to share picture and stories.
- tastyplanner.com: A Social site to share receipts and grocery list.
- wirefans.com: A Social site to share news articles.
To sum it all up make sure you have a concrete plan of action when stepping into the Social Media world of advertising.
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