Everyone uses social media these days – or at least it seems like it.

As a copywriter I use it a lot. Whether it’s tweeting for help (usually IT related problems), offering advice, promoting my blog posts, or just general chit-chat, I love using it as a way of connecting with other people.

Did you see that? I said I used it for connecting with people.

The problem is, some social media users out there don’t connect, they spam. And that’s not something you want to do – especially if you want people to follow you or ‘like’ your Facebook page.

What’s spamming?

Well, if you constantly tweet about promotions, your products, news about your company and what you’re doing, without actually engaging with people, you’re spamming.

Granted, social media is a fabulous marketing tool through which you can:

• Encourage newsletter sign-ups
• Promote your blogs
• Promote offers and give-aways

But, if that’s all you do and never respond to questions, share information, or join in with conversations, you’re not going to get a lot out of social media.

Why? Because it’s all about conversing and building relationships and that’s a two-way street, and that means you have to:

• Listen to others and help if you can
• Engage with your followers to see what they are looking for
• Build relationships with people
• Give advice and ask for help

Plus, if you listen to what people are talking about, you can use it as a valuable market research tool.

It’s not all about you

Another great way to build relationships is to promote other people.

If someone tweets that they’re looking for a great designer, and you just happen to know one, put them in touch with each other.

Marketing – Connecting – Reciprocity : The 3 pillars of social media.

If you remember that, you’ll start to get the most out of social media.

Go on, join in, it’s fun. For starters, why not follow me on Twitter –here I am, @sallyormond.

 

In the good old days customers would communicate with you via letter, phone or in person. Today things are very different. Now they can send you a tweet, post a comment on your blog or leave you a message on Facebook.

In the past if someone was unhappy with your service the ‘bad press’ was usually limited to a few of their friends and family (unless it was seriously bad service and the wrote to the Editor of your local paper). Now a single tweet or Facebook message could potentially be seen by millions.

Now, more than ever, you must have procedures in place to deal with social media communications. You have to think about how you will monitor them, how you will respond to both positive and negative comments and how you’ll interact with your audience.

Enhancing your online reputation is essential in todays transparent culture. Here are 3 easy things you can do to make sure your company holds its head up high and shines.

1. Thank you

Manners cost nothing and a simple ‘thank you’ can be a very powerful tool.

When a follower retweets you, leaves a comment on your blog or sends a referral to you, thank them. It doesn’t take a lot of effort and shows that you are listening and that you care about your customers. And in the eyes of your customers, that translates into the image of a company they want to do business with. 

But you don’t just have to keep an eye on your social media platforms. There are many other ways you can be talked about online so it’s important to monitor the internet to find out what’s being said. There are a number of tools out there such as Google Alerts which will email Google results based on your query or topic:

Or Social Mention which works in a similar way but searches social media channels:

Using these tools will help you keep track of what people are saying about you online so you can see how your brand is perceived and, as a customer service tool, enables you to solve issues quickly before they get out of hand.  

2. Blogging

Loads of people blog so that should tell you its a valuable tool to use within your business.

Not only does it allow you to own more of the web, it also is a great way to add value to your customer relationships because you can offer them tips and advice that will make their lives easier. Plus it will help position you as an expert in your field which is always good.

But the trick is to ensure you write stuff your readers want to learn about. If you are a building firm and blog about holidays, you’re not going to be adding value. But if you wrote about important issues in your trade, design ideas etc., you would create a connection with your readers and inspire them to make the most of their homes.

Take this blog for example, as a freelance copywriter I not only write about copywriting but also general marketing issues, social media, brochure copy etc., which are all topics business owners find useful. Therefore not only do I get traffic to my website, the people that come also find the experience useful.  

3. Focus on benefits

Whenever you write about your products or services, always focus on your customer; why they will benefit from it. By writing for them you are showing that you understand what’s important to them and want to help them achieve that.

Showing that kind of connection will identify you as a company that cares about its customers and not just its profits. And let’s face it, you tend to buy from people you like and trust. So if you come across as arrogant people aren’t going to buy from you.

When marketing your business it’s all too easy to get wrapped up in it and lose sight of what’s really important – your customers.

Make sure they are at the forefront of everything you do because without them you don’t have a business.  

Interact with them, thank them and go out of your way to make sure they are happy. Use social media to your advantage.

 

Social media is everywhere, everyone seems to be using it but are you really getting the most out of it?

Of course, that is assuming you’re using it – you are though, aren’t you?

Using social media doesn’t mean simply setting up a Facebook page or Twitter account; anyone can do that. Using these social tools effectively will help you attract followers and, in turn, boost the visibility of your business along with sales.

Yes, it really can do that.

Using social media

The amount of time you can give to social media is going to depend on:

• Your job
• How important you think it is as a marketing tool
• Your motivation

As a freelance copywriter I use social media a lot (especially Twitter - @sallyormond). Because I’m always tweeting and posting on Facebook, people know my name and as a result I have gained a lot of new clients through social media.

See, I told you it was an effective marketing tool.

But I also see a lot of people who have the accounts but aren’t using it as effectively as they could. That inevitably results in them losing faith with it as a marketing tool and giving up before they’ve even got started.

To help you make the most of your social media marketing (and to have fun with it), here are 5 elements that may be causing you to repel more people than you attract.

1. Talking

Most people love to talk and that’s what social media is all about. But that doesn’t mean you can just talk about you – it must be a 2 way conversation. It is not a broadcast channel. It’s not like radio when you can buy an air slot to promote your business. Constant business tweeting will turn people off – why should they listen to a Twitter version of junk mail?

2. Biography

All social media platforms allow you to add a short biography so people can learn a bit about you. If you want to attract followers you must make the most of the words you use. Make sure your keyword is there and make the rest of the text human and not a blatant advert.

Writing it with personality will attract far more people than something contrived and robotic.

3. ‘Social’

There’s nothing like pointing out the obvious but social media is a social activity.

If you constantly send out things about your business and not about you, how will people get to know you? And, as you are well aware, people buy from people. So open up and let them get to know you.

That doesn’t mean you can’t mention your business at all. Of course you can – you can promote offers (but not all the time), draw attention to your latest blog posts etc. But mix them up with tips and chatty conversation. 

4. Pied Piper

One mistake many people make on Twitter is they follow these ‘get loads of followers really quickly’ techniques. Why? It’s not a competition. The person with the most followers doesn’t get a prize.

Your Twitter community should be made up of people you know, want to know or find interesting. Just because someone follows you doesn’t mean you have to follow them back.

When someone follows you check out their profile and take a look at their tweets. Are they someone that interests you? Are they in your industry? Do  they tweet interesting or useful stuff? Those should be the questions you ask yourself before clicking follow.

5. Wallflower

When you’ve set up your social media accounts, you have to go out there and meet people. If you sit back and wait for them to come to you, you could get very lonely.

Find interesting people and start a conversation with them. Slowly you’ll gather more followers, have more conversations, gather more followers etc. Basically if you want to be part of it you have to join in. 

Social media – in all its guises - is a great tool for business but it should also be fun. Through it you can open doors that would normally be firmly shut and interact with people you would never normally meet. So give it a go.