Social Media can be a very powerful form of internet marketing – if you do it right.
Ideally you will use the various forms of Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, social bookmarking sites, micro-blogs, forums, groups, etc.) to develop a relationship with your target market and potential customers, as well as to build links and improve your search engine rankings.
This type of marketing is absolutely free but for the time you invest. Get started now so you can reap the benefits in the future. A little bit of effort can pay off repeatedly.
To Advertise Or Not To Advertise
You know that the main purpose of joining various Social Media sites is to promote your business, but it should not be quite so obvious to others. It would be very easy to use these sites to post your latest special with a link to the sales page, however, it’s not that easy. You can work that information into some of your posts, but if all you talk about is your business and its products or services, you will quickly lose “friends”.
The key to making social media work for your internet marketing efforts is to make it seem as if you are doing nothing more than offering valuable information to others who might be interested. Try posting a link to or paraphrasing a current item in the news which your target market would surely find fascinating, based on their profile. Do this often without any links to your site, then slip one in.
For example, you could start a conversation through your blog posts about the outcome of last night’s sports game, then follow it up with a link to a piece of sports equipment sold on your website, but ensure that the connection is clear, something like “if you not only like to watch soccer but play it, try these shin guards for the ultimate protection during the game”. Sure, this is an advertisement for your product, but it’s posted in the context of being helpful and addressing a need.
Don’t Be Labelled A Spammer
Another negative outcome of simply advertising and promoting your business without any other type of interaction is that you may be labelled a spammer. In some groups and forums, this can get you permanently blacklisted. After all, it makes the moderators and owners look bad to have allowed a spammer to enter their midst.
People join social media sites to have fun or chat about interesting topics, not to be inundated with constant commercials (spam). Not all sites have moderators and some sites have a voting system so that the best posts rise to the top. This won’t happen for you if you’re seen as a spammer.
Watch What You Say
Social media sites where you are trying to promote your business are not usually the place to bring up such touchy subjects as religion or politics. If you’ve got a strong opinion, it’s best to leave it out of your social marketing profiles when you’re trying to sell something. There’s no quicker way to alienate potential customers then to express a controversial opinion, and the loss of even one lead makes all your previous effort worthless.
It should go without saying but probably needs to be mentioned anyway: do not use vulgar language. Along these same lines, refrain from making off-colour jokes, or presenting any type of racial or sexual bias in your comments. If you want to make fun of someone, feel free to make yourself the butt of non-controversial jokes, but never include others, no matter how well you feel you know them.
Marketing via Social Media is much like attending a conference or business cocktail party in person. Mingle, be kind and polite, show interest in others, and try not to make your participation a constant sales pitch.
See you at the top of Google!
Sean Rasmussen
SEO Australia Pacific
AussieSEO.com © 2007 - 2010
Thanks for the reminders Sean. Social Media are just that – social. And as with any social events you can sprinkle in a bit of business, but it should not dominate the conversation.
.-= Renee´s last blog ..Definition Of Motivation =-.
My pleasure Renee, like any type of etiquette, we need to show the same type of respect to social media and it’s users.
Hi Sean,
Thanks for the great tips. I try to be respectful at all times and if I haven’t got anything good to say, I generally say nothing. But, there are times when I get it wrong.
I just think it’s important to treat people online the same as you would as if they were standing right in front of you.
.-= Jazz Salinger´s last blog ..Learn and Earn Competition – This is It =-.
Hi Sean
It is very annoying when chatting to someone for the first time on a social site and they start trying to sell. I would not do that and in fact prefer to leave sales out of my social activities.
Like wise, I don’t appreciate the use of bad language and If someone is doing that It’s so easy to ban them from your site, which is a good thing.
I am sure people of all ages still enjoy being treated respectfully and we need to always consider that when communicating to people on line. Treat them how you would like to be treated. Thankyou for another great article.
Blessings,
Elly
.-= Elly´s last blog .. =-.
I agree strongly with your comment, Elly. I connect up to others via social media for the purpose of socializing and occasionally, following news that I might not otherwise notice.
Similarly, if you want to say something risque, there are many ways of doing it without the use of the “oh too familiar four letter words”. For example, use three letter words – like “SEX”.
When writing for Grateful We’re Not Dead, in order to maintain our somewhat outrageous image I frequently use the “double entendre” which I find more humourous than using graphic language. Leave a lot up to the imagination of the reader.
.-= Don White´s last blog ..Psycho- =-.
As with any type of social interaction, there is a “social etiquette” to follow when using “social media”. And if you tend to tread too far outside the confines of those rules you will likely find that your actions come back to haunt you. Statements that you make online can show up enshrined forever in search engine pages or other monitoring sites. The Internet has a massive memory and your transgressions will likely long outlive you. So think seriously about what you do and say online.
.-= Don White´s last blog ..You Cant Throw That Out- =-.
This is a good article – because of the consciousness of using the right etiquette – but also as a reminder that social networking (especially in forums) is not just about selling, but also about learning, sharing and building a ‘name’
Perhaps it is a wee bit more time consuming – if we attempt too much involvlement all at once – so my plan is to work up slowly
‘Watch what you say’ is good advice for social media etiquette. Your comments are permanent – there for all to see. If you choose to say something controversial, be prepared to back it up later on. Getting into an argument online has no winners. And in fact can alienate you for the long term. So before you bite, get political or touch on something controversial, just be aware of how it could impact your own brand.
.-= David Moloney´s last blog ..Choosing the Best Domain Name =-.