It’s every marketer’s dream: having a captive audience who are completely on board and ready to hear what you have to say. It may seem impossible, but with the latest trends in the evolution of social media, marketers now have a chance to create true communities like never before. But how can you move from traditional marketing strategies into this more socially-driven landscape? In order to make the most of this important shift, you need to incorporate these four elements.
1. Be absolutely clear about why you are there. As we discussed previously, what you do is not nearly as compelling to people as why you do it. Forget all those goals of “higher sales numbers” and “greater conversion percentages”; concentrate instead on using your social media presence to demonstrate why your company exists in the first place, what your vision is for how you can help people. If you do this well enough, the conversions will follow and you won’t need to worry about pursuing them separately.
2. Don’t chase your audience – entice them. Traditionally, marketers have felt a lot of pressure to go out there and convert, but today’s social media audiences are smarter than that. They already know you’re trying to get a sale – what they need to know is why they should trust your company specifically. Tolerance for marketing ‘ad speak’ is at an all-time low, and chasing after potential customers will only frustrate them. Instead, use your social platforms to show exactly what sort of company you are, and this will help filter your audience so that the right customers come to you.
3. Be transparent. The days of an overly-manufactured perfect public image are, thankfully, long behind us. Consumers know you’re not perfect, and furthermore they prefer the organic version of your brand to the carefully-manicured one. So let them be a part of your daily process, whatever that happens to look like at any given moment. In other words, don’t forget the social aspect of social media. Building a community starts with you, and if you want to build it well you need to start from a place of relentless authenticity.
4. Relax. Don’t make it more difficult than it needs to be, which ironically is easier said than done! It can be so tempting to try to be the quirkiest, the most unusual, or some other kind of superlative in order to get attention, but in today’s social media world, trying too hard is an immediate turn-off. For marketers, it can be difficult to learn not to push too hard, but it’s essential to find that happy medium where you’re having fun with your audience while still getting your core message across.
Cogo Interactive is an award-winning digital marketing agency specializing in online marketing strategy, web design, SEO and social media marketing. We work with clients in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, DC and nationally.
