Aplus.net Blog

You know what social media is… but now what? Here are a few things you need to know before jumping on board any social media platform.

First of all, don’t start by creating a company profile. If you’re brand new to social media, you need to test the waters first! Make a personal account and see what social media feels like from a user’s perspective. Find out what other companies like yours are doing, and try to find out how the platform’s population responds to their techniques. Only once you’re comfortable with a platform from a user standpoint, and if you think that platform meshes with your company’s desired image, should you create a company page.

Second, never try to sell anything on social media platforms. Social media platforms are just that – social. They’re built to focus on relationships and two-way (or more) communication between real people. Your goal shouldn’t be to sell to customers; it should be to build trust-based relationships with them. Once your new friends trust you, they might visit your website and find out what you have to offer them – and even if they don’t, they might refer their friends to you as a reputable and responsive business.

Third, give the people what they want. In this day and age you can’t expect people to come to you just because you’re online. Engage your audience. Make them laugh or give them information they can use to make their lives better, all in relation to your company of course – but don’t overwhelm them with advertising or information that’s irrelevant to them, or you’ll lose the trust you may have built up over many months.

Fourth, stick with it. Relationships take a long time to build – and a long time can be years. You probably won’t see much happen within the first several weeks of your social media campaign, and that’s ok. Your audience will tell you what’s working and what’s not by how they react to your campaigns, and each time you try something you’ll learn something new that will help you down the line.

Don’t know what great social media communication (note: that’s not marketing or advertising) looks like? Check out these effective social media strategies some big brands have used over at Mashable. For a true horror story about the consequences of social media silence, read anything about the Motrin Moms fiasco last fall.

To learn more about what social media platforms marketers use, how much they use them, and what kind of benefits social media has to offer, I recommend reading this incredibly informative, graph-heavy Social Media Marketing Industry Report by Michael Stelzner over lunch. When you’re ready for dessert, look over Chris Brogan’s Social Media Basics for a few more tips.

Points to remember:

• Experience social media from a user’s viewpoint before creating a company profile
• Find out what other companies are using social media for
• Never try to sell anything on social media platforms
• Give your audience information that is useful to them and relevant to your company
• Don’t give up if you don’t see results right away

Keep an eye out for more posts about individual social media platforms. Tell us what platform you would like to read about first in the comments!