Just about anyone on the planet can get online and take a swing at marketing via social media. Gathering a fan base is pretty easy as far as the internet goes, but having an audience that truly is interested in what you do and that wants to be part of what you’re doing is much more important than the number of followers you have. Since just about anyone can start social media pages, the amount of attention people pay to you has to do with how you market yourself, not how many people you can find to like your page.
With that in mind, here are a few tips to help you towards effective social media usage.
Just Because You Do Something for Someone Doesn’t Mean They Have to Offer the Same for You
Reciprocation is optional and thus is not a two-way street. This goes for more popular pages as well – just because you advertise for them doesn’t mean they have to advertise for you. Instead, find pages and people that are similar in topic and size, and work out some kind of mutually beneficial program. Don’t just expect someone to ‘repay the favor’.
It’s Good to Post, but That Doesn’t Mean You’re Posting the Right Thing
You wouldn’t post a good review of a slaughterhouse on PETA's page because it’s counterintuitive – not to mention you’re not reaching your audience. Posting content is about reaching a group of people and if you don’t do that, you are hurting your potential reach and growth. Check out other pages similar to yours and see what they’re doing. Often, just watching a few other successful pages for a few weeks can improve your page dramatically.
Be Reasonable in Frequency of Contact
Most people who like your business won’t mind hearing from you once a day, especially if the content posted helps them out in some way. But if you’re posting multiple calls to action in a day or advertising something too much, you’re not working enough on building that important relationship with your client and are instead driving them away. Some people may begin to ignore you even though they’re still friends with your account or a fan of your page. When you do choose to post multiple times a day, makes sure that you do so at different times of the day so different people see your posts.
Of course, different strategies work for different people, so make sure you try different things. After all, social media has a trend of its own, and keeping up with all of the popular and trending is up to you and your business.
