My take on social marketing

My take on social marketing

Social media is big, let’s face it, EVERYONE has heard of Facebook and if you haven’t you’ve had your head in the sand. In the past decade social media has become huge, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn; they are a part of everyday life.

Since January 1st I have upped my social media posts by A LOT. This was a strategic decision on my part. I believe social media is getting me traction. It’s not necessarily about people liking and commenting on my posts but about the amount of views I get, people are seeing my posts. The more I have been posting the more interaction I seem to be getting. At first I was sceptical, I didn’t want to bombard people with my brand, but I also wanted my brand to grow and in this day in age, social media seems to play an integral part in this growth.

I think of social media like a busy street market. Each stall is a person (someone who posts to social media) and each person is a spruiker. Spruikers are the stall owners, those ones making bold claims about how great or cheap their products are… “Authentic leather handbags come grab a bargain for just $50 each”… check out these spruikers, they are high energy, authentic, and I am sure they sell product!

The problem with some of these market spruikers is you get your ‘leather’ bag home to find it made of synthetic material and you paid $50 for a bag worth $10. If this is the case then you certainly won’t be recommending the bag to a friend. The best spruikers are the ones who are authentic and genuine, the same goes for social media posts, you are selling yourself but you must be authentic and truthful because otherwise you won’t get the results you desire.

So at a busy street market the spruikers are selling a product, whether it is food or goods they are selling something. On social media the standard post is basically selling themselves. Just like a spruiker would never say “my product is cheap crap that will fall apart”, genuinely posters wouldn’t say bad things about themselves. They brag, they share things they are passionate about, they tell family and friends about life events and they forward funny things to others for a laugh.

Some people post about everything… and we all know at least one of those ‘over sharers’ on social media, like do we really need to know what people are eating for dinner? Even the posts that seem negative usually are not. For example a friend of mine posted a birthday cake they decorated with the caption ‘look at this train wreck’, although the cake did look terrible, it was an amusing post, so it was not saying to people who viewed it ‘I am a bad person who is a terrible cook’ it was really saying ‘I am willing to laugh at myself because I am fun’ without actually saying that. On social media I believe most people who post are trying to look good to the world, and that is what businesses need to do too.

Those on social media who are selling something, like me, shouldn’t do post after post trying to force a product on someone. Just like in the market place, the spruikers are calling out to get people interested in the product and have a look, but they also target people who are walking past “hi, how are you today, would you like to try this…”, on social media it shouldn’t be about selling, selling, selling, it should be about getting your name out there, your strengths, personality and point of view, all these things that help people relate to you, trust you, and often they will use your business or product as a result.

Spruikers use different strategies to get people in, on social media I like to use different types of posts to draw people in. If you were to use one type of post all the time it may get boring and you probably wouldn’t get the same results as you would with a combination. Also content drives social media and using a combination of post types makes it easier to create more content! I create my posts based around 5 types of themes, fun posts, thoughtful posts, educational posts, conversational posts and work posts.

The fun posts!

These are the ones that get a giggle. I put this type first because I like a bit of humour. These can range from a funny story about a real event to posting an amusing meme that makes you laugh. It sets a light, fun tone to viewers and these posts usually get many likes/shares/comments and hopefully a few laughs as well. Here is one of my recent post that, while it’s not fall out of your chair funny, I like to think people smiled when they read it, not to mention my brand was right there.

The thoughtful posts!

These are the posts that get people thinking. They are often a good way to enhance interaction because people who have a view on the topic will often comment. You can include your thoughts on current events, link in inspirational stories or even post your company philosophy. These can be controversial at times but they don’t have to be, and if they do stir up some controversy just remember everyone has an opinion and try not to offend those that have a different opinion to yours.

The educational posts!

These posts are educational, I don’t really think I need a further explanation here, they can be directly relevant to your business, or not. People appreciate learning new things and if it helps them then why not do it!? I like to post educational content usually through links to my blog articles, and many of my blog articles are written not only to help myself get my head around something, but also to help my clients and friends become more efficient at something or more knowledgable on a topic. You can check out many of my educational blogs here.

How I went #paperless a few years ago! https://t.co/aNJvEy91xF #business #efficiency #systemsthinking #organisation pic.twitter.com/alPVNxCj1h

— Daniel Borg (@danielborg) April 1, 2016

The conversational posts!

This is where you aim to interact with viewers and you leave the ball in their court i.e. ‘This is our latest product, what do you like about it?’ It encourages viewers to respond, you can then respond back and this is why I call it the conversational post! I often use this when I design a new logo. It not only helps promote my design skills but it helps out the client too as I am posting their logo and clients appreciate it. When I first used this tool I didn’t get a huge amount of interaction, but as I continue to post on social media I find more and more people are getting involved and leaving comments on these posts.

A #logo #concept I’m working on for an #oceanswim #competition. I think it #communicates the #emotion of a long #challenging #swim! Would you agree? #brand #graphicdesigner #graphicdesign #logo #logodesigner #logotype #logodesign #creative #creativity #follow #photooftheday #picoftheday #designer #logoplace #designoftheday #instagood #typetopia #logoinspirations #typography A photo posted by psyborg® (@_psyborg_) on Apr 11, 2016 at 6:45am PDT

 

The work posts!

I don’t use these much, these are the ones that are directly related to your work. Special offers, images of your product, testimonials… I usually save this direct approach for my website, for people who are directly looking to use my business. Social media is a great tool to advertise your work; I just think you can overdo it if you are directly aiming your social media posts toward selling all the time. Now I am not talking about all posts about your work or product, I am just referring to the direct ‘selling’ type of posts. So incorporating work posts into the other types of social media post (like I have illustrated above in conversational posts and thoughtful posts) is the perfect way to enhance business without forcing it. The direct work posts trying to pull in clients should be kept to a minimum or not be too forceful like the post I have illustrated below. It is a post that does not fit into any of the other categories, and it sells my business yet it isn’t saying ‘contact me now for a quote’… I am sure you can see the difference.

So thats my take…

The overall aim for businesses like mine using social media is company growth. Using the 5 types of posts I have illustrated helps to keep your posts interesting and keep the content going! I am 4 months into the year since starting my quest to post more and I am starting to see some real results, including work coming in directly through my social media and previous clients contacting me for more work. It isn’t happening over night but the more I use the tools the internet gives me the more I know my brand will grow. My next step is to increase my online video interviews and start video blogging/pod casting!

Watch this space!

I really do enjoy getting feedback so please let me know your thoughts on this or any of my articles in the comments field or on social media below.

Cheers Daniel