I have seen many companies and organizations take a passive-aggressive approach to social media. They seem to get hot with a lot of activity and then cool down and lose focus altogether.
It just unfolds that way. In fact, managing social media channels for most organizations of more than five people can be challenging. But it can be done when you bring some clear purpose and function to your efforts.
Don’t waste the resources you have chasing after the latest shiny object to be revealed in the industry. Get some discipline and direction. Create a posting process that keeps your social media marketing consistent. And keep that content relevant and engaging.
Here’s a simple way to focus your social media strategy by organizing your efforts into three purpose-driven categories:
1) Branding and thought leadership
To distinguish your brand, showcase your great ideas for your industry. It’s not bragging, it’s being innovative about how you explain yourself and your vision. And please offer some inspiration. We all crave a little passion from time to time.
Food to go: Have an attitude: you will be much more memorable.
2) Promotions
Contests, games, and giveaways done right are great ways to engage your customers and attract new ones. In fact, social media marketing is really made for this. Additionally, a promotion can quickly show tangible results and increase your overall metrics. When done right, a great or even outrageous promotion can go viral and generate huge awareness. Also, remember to create an interesting prize!
Food to go: A promotion built around a super creative premise and prize can take you places. Local TV news loves the unusual! So think big.
3) Customer service
Wow, that’s boring you say. I say wow, aren’t you taking advantage of this advantage? Responding to customer questions and even complaints can be done effectively through social channels. I’ve seen some companies use Twitter as their virtual help desk, providing accurate answers in a super timely manner.
Food to go: It’s okay to reveal your warts, it makes your brand more approachable and human.
Bonus Tip: Always have a bonus or something extra. Sure I just did that here and you can too. People love surprises and extras like the unannounced free desert. If you can, keep the feeling casual and spontaneous. That really is the value of social media. So dig in and dig a little extra for the three approaches we talked about earlier.