It’s a common issue across the board. The small business owner hires someone to handle their social media and after a few months, decides it’s not working. Granted, any kind of digital marketing takes time to build but how strong is the foundation you’re building?
To start, getting to know your audience is imperative! It’s not enough that you’ve created a well designed marketing post. It doesn’t matter that you’ve got a great idea for a marketing campaign, if you have no idea who you’re targeting. You’re not marketing to stroke your ego by taking satisfaction in a page that’s only relevant to your product. You’re on social media to reach people! These are the same people that will ultimately be making the decision to buy into your brand. But first, you must gain trust. How do you do that? Get to know them. If you already know your target audience, you’re off to a great start.
My all time favorite social media master, is Gary Vaynerchuk. In is book “Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook,” he gives an example of a boot company who creates post about 30 Rock, the TV show. It not posted because it’s relevant to the brand but because it’s relevant to the people who follow the brand. They surveyed, on a previous post, asking their followers what their favorite TV show was. Most of them responded, 30 Rock. You’ve just received the first carrot in getting to know them.
Did you know that the content you post on Facebook is only as engaging as your previous post? Kind of like, you’re only as strong as your weakest link. When a post receives high engagement, it sets up an opportunity for the next. Facebook uses an algorithm that allows more or less visibility dependent on the engagement from your last post. Herein lies Gary’s point. The more you jab, the more you engage and when you’re absolutely ready to right hook, you set yourself up for success.
As a small business owner, this can be a very challenging concept to grasp. Marketing of the past, was always focused on advertising and the idea of sell, sell, sell! Now that our world is predominantly digital, don’t look to social media as another platform to sell. See it for what it is, a place where you connect and get to know your customers. When you focus on building relationships, you build their trust. This way, you’re developing a loyal database of followers and supporters of your brand. They aren’t just looking buy your stuff. Honestly, they could care less about what you’re selling. They look forward to your content. They look forward to your connection. They want to laugh, learn and be inspired. To quote Erik Qualman, “The ROI of Social Media is that your business will still exist in 5 years,” if you do it right.
Your followers might not initially care about your products, but when they’re looking for what you’ve got, you’ll be the first one they call.
Krystal Ariel, Contributor.
Storyteller/Yoga Enthusiast/Music Junkie
