Social Media Marketing

We use the term “social media marketing” to describe the evolving juggernaut that is commonly known as “Web 2.0.” Popular social news and network sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Yelp, YouTube, and countless smaller niche social sites collectively form what we like to call “social media.”

Our social media marketing services are effective for generating links, but they’re also an excellent method for building sales and creating strong relationships with existing and potential customers.

In addition to managing your company’s social marketing campaign, we also provide employee training for using and participating in these social news and network communities. Contact us to discuss social network marketing opportunities for your business.

Social News and Social Network Marketing Tips

Here are some tips for marketing your business on social news/social network sites:

Be 100% truthful and open about who you are and what you’re about. This means that you should disclose your business relationship immediately, and you should never be reluctant to discuss what you do.

Contribute to the community. No one likes to be around a person that only talks about themselves – when you participate in a community, find ways to offer advice, help people, contribute to resources, etc.

Always be gracious and polite. Online communities are famous for harboring “trolls” – people who have nothing better to do than start trouble and poke holes. “Kill them with kindness” as it were.

Own up to mistakes. When you participate in an online community, you will inevitably have a “run-in” with someone who had a bad experience with your business and is eager to berate you. Rather than engaging in finger pointing, admit that you could have handled the situation better, apologize, and move on. The person with the bad experience may not let it go once you’ve apologized, but the community will recognize your honesty and give you the benefit of the doubt.

Speak with one voice. If you don’t already have an Employee Social Network Policy, now is the time to get one started. It’s very important that your employees comprehend your marketing goals and understand what they can and can not do.

Respect your competitors. If your competition is smart, they’re participating in these communities just like you are. Never denigrate your competitors or their products – it hurts your own image more.

Write as if your parents or children are in the room. Imagine that everything you do or write on a social network will be seen by every member of your family. Obviously, foul language, crude innuendo, etc. are unacceptable.

Respect privacy. Don’t make the mistake of disclosing a client relationship in a public forum, ie. don’t blog about “Jane stopping by the shop last week” unless you’re sure that Jane wants you to disclose her business with you to the entire world. The same goes for your employees, vendors, etc.