We won’t waste our time trying to convince you that social media marketing is important for a business. If you don’t believe it, we can recommend dozens – maybe hundreds – of articles, studies, and think-pieces that all reach the same conclusion: by and large, businesses need to use social media for marketing and advertising.
If you’re investing in advertising your business, but have been neglecting the major social media outlets (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest), you should consider spending time and dollars developing a presence there. It’s easy to start, and if you don’t want to pay for a fancy advertising copywriter, you can do it on the cheap by managing it yourself. (Qwerty, the pooch at the top of this article is doing that, but he has no marketing message. Or opposable thumbs. Silly Qwerty… )
Even if you don’t know anything about social media marketing strategy or how to create the kind of contagious content that we’re so good at here at DogCat Marketing, there are really only a couple of things you need to start: a computer, social media accounts, and one simple rule. (Ok, you’ll need to know how to post to different social media platforms, too. If you don’t know how, find the nearest millenial, and give them dubstep music or superhero movies in exchange for some guidance).
The one rule to rule them all: keep it rule— ah, real. Keep it real.
It’s the coolest of salutations from the 90’s (followed closely by “Catch you on the flipside!”), and it’s what we’ll tell any business owner – client or not – to do when they start using social media marketing for their business. When it comes to these social platforms, the best voice that a company – especially small businesses – can have is an authentic and familiar one. It’s the voice of the business owner, the employees, and the business. It’s simple; It’s obvious; It’s easy; It works.
It boils down to what social media sites are used for; it’s not called social media for nothing. As of last January, 74% of U.S. adults use one or more social media sites, with an overwhelming majority (71%) using at least Facebook. It’s this popularity that makes it such an ideal place to advertise – it’s where the people are, and it’s become a major part of socialization in general. Social media offer businesses the ability to advertise and share content with their fans and potential customers in line with updates from those fans’ friends and family. Done correctly, the lines between friends and family and businesses on social media will blur.
It’s this that makes authenticity paramount to social media marketing success. Use your own personality to inform your social marketing. Instead of getting on Facebook and affecting a marketing voice, use the platform to create relationships and connections with fans. People don’t like to know that they’re being sold to; it feels cheap, and they run into enough ads from Coca Cola and Microsoft online, anyway.
Create content they’ll enjoy. Did you get a new product in that you’re excited about? Post a photo to Facebook and tell everyone why you’re excited. Did you see a double rainbow from the front door? Put it on Instagram. Hear a great joke about your business? Tweet it. Let your fans know that you’re a real person with a sense of humor, likes and dislikes, and show them that you know your business.
And whenever you’re posting, just remember the most important rule of social media marketing: keep it real.
If you don’t, somebody else will…
Can’t quite find your voice? Give us a call at (720) 588-2007. We can sit down with you to talk about your current social media efforts and figure out where you need to go from here. If you want to pass the social media responsibility onto someone else, we can manage your profiles for you… And we won’t let Qwerty anywhere near the keyboard.