Small business owners are starting to take notice that social media accounts are huge among other businesses. Increases in the amount of active business accounts on free marketing platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus are an indication there is a lot to be gained by getting involved.
Unfortunately, many businesses just can’t seem to gain much success in engagement over their social media accounts. When there isn’t any positive result from your social media marketing right away, it can be discouraging. There are a couple of golden rules to remember when you begin your social media campaigns.
The first rule to keep in mind is that consistency is the key.
Although it isn’t impossible, you can’t expect to be an overnight sensation. (However, it must be an awesome feeling) For the most part, it’s going to take some time and effort to get the hang of it all. Once you begin to spend more time and engaging with your new found online community, you will notice that you can actually begin to take part in some interesting conversation. This leads to the second golden rule.
Listen to your fans and friends.
Imagine you are at a small party or get together. You may not know everyone at the time, so you want to kindly introduce yourself. Let your community know who you are and what you do. You may be able to find some people that are in need of your services, without having to throw a sales pitch at them. If you were meeting these people for the first time, and were face to face, you wouldn't constantly tell them why they should buy your services or products.
Instead, you would take part in some small talk. You could talk about sports, current events, or even the weather. You will see that by doing this, you are letting that person know you are human, as opposed to some online robot that is automatically responding with a link to buy from you.
Nobody likes to talk to someone that can go on for hours at a time about the same thing every day.
In a physical encounter, when you’re face to face with someone else, you can’t be the only one talking. You have to do some listening as well. As with any conversation, listening is a major part of the deal.
Listening and responding accordingly, will build trust in you. And when you earn the trust of people in your community, your business will gain trust as well. And of course then they won’t mind hearing about your products or service from time to time. They may even become advocates for your brand. This means that when they come across someone that needs your product or service, they will be quick to mention your brand.
They could even refer that person to your social media page. This is where you might find that you are gaining more followers or friends in your online community. Be aware of the new faces you see. Thank them for coming to see what your page is all about and welcome them to join in any conversation. Remember that listening is a golden rule. So if you notice any question or comment, whether it be good or bad, reply promptly and consistently!
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Ron Kennedy
Austin Newsroom
