As with everything on the internet now, valuable and substantial content is key. Being seen amongst the hubbub of voices, videos, channels and micro messages is essential for business marketing in the arena of social media. However, some business owners wrongly fall into the trap of putting up a routine amount of tired empty messages per week in the hope their brand will be seen and eventually something will catch, be shared or liked.
This is a pretty pointless and ineffective strategy. The only difference between social media and other forms of marketing is it happens so fast! Messages can appear disposable and have the shelf life of a microbe but they are worth much more than that and deserve your investment.
Your messages are the face of your brand. They will reflect and embody how you view and interact with your customers. They will reflect your knowledge of the industry and will offer a platform to highlight your services and generate leads. Social media is just too big now to be taken with a token gesture – give it time and it will give back to you in bucket-loads.
- Click on me
Getting the micro message just right is highly important. The key is to hint at what the visitor will find when they click on the link. Don’t give all the best bits away. Create the desire to learn more!
- A reason for Sharing
Everybody wants to go viral because when you do so does your brand and your services. The two areas that need enhancing are increasing followers and getting those shares. So why do only some messages get shared?
Social media is a community and therefore as mentioned above, it has to offer substantial information that an individual would wish to pass on to a friend or associate. However you can get a share through offering something back to the reader – an extra bonus. For instance you could offer the chance for someone to download a pdf tutorial if they share or like. You could offer the chance of someone viewing a series of videos if they just share or like. The possibilities are endless – just don’t be too mean or you will frustrate visitors!
- How do you do that?
Easy tutorials will always be super-popular on the internet and there will always be a plethora of new training ideas you can come up with. If there are already tutorials out there on the same subject, don’t worry, now is the time to create a more effective piece and put your brand stamp on it.
- Borrowed interest
Celebrity attracts visitors like moths to a flame. So if you can create messages, blogs and videos that take into account either events concerning current celebs or famous names in your industry then it is instantly going to grab attention. With that in mind, why not go one step further, seek out the well-known names in your industry, and try to set up an interview or, if that is not possible, use their quotes alongside your brand name.
- Create a recognisable series
Amongst all that chaos of daily messages there should in fact be some degree of structure. As your brand becomes more well -known your followers should be looking out for those messages which have your unique style, tone or content. This is made even more powerful when the messages you are putting out are actually part of a series and they know which day or time they are likely to be put up.
- Recommended lists
Everybody loves lists. At times the concept can seem overused and we find ourselves struggling to find something more unique but the fact is they are overused only because the concept actually works. This is especially true when the list is perhaps to do with your business and highlights useful tools or issues. Your brand will be seen as current with a dynamic knowledge of the industry itself.
