The Idea

You’ve got it. The perfect idea…

But, how’d you get there? You likely didn’t come up with the idea on your own. Instead, it probably developed as an aggregation of the experiences and impressions of everyone in the room with you.

Like a chemist seeking the formula for some new something or other, an idea is delicate—it’s easily cut short or passed over. Don’t try to come up with it on your own because you won’t get there. And don’t involve everyone you’ve ever come into contact with either. You won’t please everyone, and you’ll just dilute the remarkable ideas.

Find a balance – you’ll need the proper ingredients first, then make sure you have the right amount of each. The idea won’t be far behind.

15 Best Practices for Businesses Using Social Media (Part II of III)

06. Put in Work on the Front End

Though social media requires rapid communication in most instances, not all content should be impulsive. In fact, it’s probably a good idea to plan content one month in advance. 

This content shouldn’t solely be links to other websites or fictional holiday wishes (Happy Do Nothing Day, everyone!) either. Take photos, shoot videos, hold a contest, poll your followers, just do something. This may require more work than your personal Facebook page, but it’s a must to keep your followers engaged.

07. Build a Community

Easier said than done.

The first step, though, is to get people talking. People should feel included, so engage with them. Social media gives businesses the opportunity to break down the wall between themselves and their consumers. If they have a question, answer it. If they have a concern, respond to it. And do it quickly, people expect a response within 24 hours.

08. Be Human

People respond better to other humans than they do to companies. If your page reads like an ad, people will turn off. Instead of mindlessly clicking your link back to your website, they’ll see what their friends are saying. 

Cut the professional jargon and be human. This will make building a community much simpler.

09. Be Fascinating

It’s not good enough to be interesting anymore. You have to be fascinating.

You see, that girl from high school that recently came back from a trip to Europe is interesting. If you’re equally as interesting, people aren’t going to visit your page.  

In the social media space, you’re no longer competing with other companies. You’re also competing with your followers’ friends. They’re much more interesting than you, so you have to be fascinating.

10. Stay Current

The social media space is synonymous with being up-to-date. Things spread, ignite and die very quickly. So you must be informed. Current events, industry news and (real) holidays are excellent things to talk about, just make sure they’re relevant.

The Final Good

People are going to love this product. That’s what we all say, right? We have this life-changing product or service that people must buy. So we start ranting about the product’s features, and the “what” behind the product. It has this, that and more!

But, this doesn’t work. People don’t care; they’re selfish. They only care about the “why.” Why must I buy this product? What's in it for me?

This is the reason plenty of campaigns fail, and products die before they even take their first baby step in the Product Lifecycle. The final good is not the product itself. Rather, the final good is the benefit the consumer receives. It could be that it makes life easier, creates envy among their friends, or any number of reasons.

Products are just a means to an end. And to sell product, you must determine why people need to buy products, and then tell them.

15 Best Practices for Businesses Using Social Media (Part I of III)

The way we interact is evolving, but we’ve known that for some time. The prevailing uncertainty, though, is how marketers will exploit this new way of communications. It’s a time where anything can happen – businesses of all sizes can thrive or collapse.

What’s next? It’s a question that marketers must continually ask. We must change our ways as fast as the public changes theirs. It’s not easy, but it must be done.

Social media has been around for a stone age, (at least in tech years) yet some businesses are failing to adapt. So I’ve compiled a list of what I feel are best practices for businesses using social media as a tool to communicate…

01. Start with a Plan

It sounds straightforward, right? Every business should start with a plan, but they don’t. Much like you’d begin any type of campaign, whether it be TV, print, radio, etc., social media deserves a plan, a well-thought-out one. In fact, it may need more planning than any of the preceding mediums since communication within social media happens on a daily basis - it’s not a one-time execution. Before you start, ask the following questions:

·      What are we hoping to get out of this?

·      What types of content are we going to post?

·      How will we integrate all of our social networks (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube)?

·      What does our brand sound like? Do we have an identity? If so, how can we make it consistent?

·      How will we measure success?

Of course, this list of questions isn’t complete. I can’t do all of the work for you…

02. Know Your Brand

What does your brand stand for? Every brand has (or should have) an identity. Social media is a great way to solidify this. But be careful, it’s also a great way to ruin what you stand for, so make sure your social identity is consistent with the rest of your brand’s messaging.

03. Know Your Audience

This may take some time. But after some trial, evaluation, error, trial, evaluation and more error, you’ll know what your audience likes to see, and what types of content they respond to best.

04. Give People a Reason to Follow

Before you can establish what your audience likes, you have to give them a reason to engage with you on social media in the first place. People are selfish. They aren’t going to let you take up precious space in the news feeds if you don’t benefit them in some way. Unless you’re some iconic brand - and people feel more complete with your logo gracing their page - you need to give them something. Figure out what that is.

05. Post Share-Worthy Content

This is where social media really shines. In the past, marketers have relentlessly tried to increase and measure word-of-mouth exposure among their loyal customers.

Well the time has come. Social media not only allows marketers to track mentions, shares, etc., it makes word of mouth (or word of text I guess) much, much easier for their brand’s influencers.

Instead of talking at your brand’s social followers, give them shareable content. They can re-tweet, like, or share however they prefer with all of their friends/followers allowing your message to grow exponentially. In other words, let your followers be your salespeople. After all, they are a lot more believable than you. 

Consumers Aren't People

Well at least not how marketers view them. “Consumers” are made-up people; they don’t really exist. When marketers speak of consumers, they often view them to be rational, deliberate or impartial. This is often not the case. People are irrational, unintentional and biased. They buy based on emotion, gut-feeling or some other subjective reasoning.

It's not too often you see a person performing a cost-benefit analysis on a pair of shoes before pulling the trigger. Instead, people almost always make an emotional decision first; the rationale is just an added bonus. When was the last time you heard a person say, "These shoes are in my budget, plus I just happen to really like them." It's usually the opposite.

Don't get me wrong, people don't always buy based on emotion first - only when an underlying personal connection exists. Yet marketers do extensive research to determine what people should do, and they call them consumers. But, consumers don’t buy products, people do.