Top Do’s and Don’ts of Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing does not have to be rocket science. Many people make it more complicated than it is and tend to shy away from it. They know that they should engage, but still fundamentally do not understand the intricacies and as such, they are missing out on a whole new way of communicating with their clients and would-be prospects. Once you have learned that it takes a different mindset and its not about the hard sell, you just need to be dedicated, believable, valuable and repetitive. And no, repetitive does not mean spamming the same message to the world, it means you must take time out of your schedule on a regular basis to interact.

1. Don’t believe that there is a magic formula.

Sorry to shoot down your dreams in the first sentence, but there really is no magic wand here, either. All these different platforms and sites may offer free membership, free enrollment and a free platform, but this approach takes work. Lots of it. Be assured, however, that if you approach this the right way and make it a long-term project, you will enhance your reputation significantly and will invariably benefit from your efforts. Avoid any schemes that promise instant success.

2. Do focus.

You can certainly get out of your depth very quickly if you try and expand your reach too broadly or employ a scattershot approach. Your aim is to make contacts, good ones and you must be able to sort the wheat from the chaff. Keep a note of everyone you come across in your industry who appears to know what they’re talking about, has a good following or has a special aura. Keep track of these contacts and make sure that you keep in touch. You should aim to read their work regularly, the blog posts, Facebook postings or tweets. Make sure that you respond and get to know them as they get to know you. Yes, it will take some work.

3. Do reach out.

You are rightly proud of your blog, its content and your contribution to the niche. Reach out to others who also contribute good material, by linking to their posts. Over time, people will link back to yours and you will be creating a network of great, interconnected content.

4. Do integrate.

Part of the process of building up your brand is to use a variety of relevant social media platforms and to ensure that they are all appropriately linked. Your Twitter feed should show on Facebook, your Facebook postings on your blog page, your YouTube account videos should be bookmarked and your blog point to your hub website. You are building your social media presence and creating a certain stance for your organization. Make sure that your branding is consistent and that you update your various accounts regularly.

5. Do give value.

In order for any of this to work, you have to be a contributor. You have to be able to listen and learn, find out what all the buzz is about, pick up on some of the problems and write posts and messages that contribute to the issue. Try and resolve problems. If there is a major conversation thread about a subject of interest, make sure you contribute and keep on top of the thread until it naturally dies away. You are not selling anything and you should not suggest that you could, even if you think you have a solution to whatever problem is on the table. You’re building up your presence and making people aware of your existence and, by extension, your brand.

6. Don’t sell.

This follows on from the last point. If you try and directly sell your products or services within any social media network, you will get nowhere. It simply is not done. That isn’t to say that you won’t see thousands of people or businesses trying to do just that, but they are essentially uneducated in the finer points of social media interaction. Remember to educate, inform, entertain and enlighten and watch what happens over time.

7. Do build your brand.

Calculate which social media networks could be of most interest to you from a holistic perspective. Don’t try and focus on every blogging platform, social network, bookmarking site by trying to be active in all, but be selective. Once you have committed, build your brand consistently within and keep up with your profile. Make your presence feel genuine.

8. Don’t be anti-social, be personal.

Probably the biggest mistake that people make when they set out to “conquer” the social media networks is that they forget what it’s all about, to be social. You must get to know the person at the other end and build those relationships one at a time. You can build your list of interested parties exponentially by strengthening individual relationships. By doing this, you can reach out to the contacts of the person concerned and even further, to their contacts.

In social media, what are the biggest “no-no’s” from your point of view?

Adam Toren