Facebook,
Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+, YouTube, Tumblr, Instagram and the list
keeps growing. Social media is now the number one activity online, with almost three-quarters of online adults using
social networking sites. You can’t ignore social media as a part of your
marketing mix.
So you
make a choice. Do you want to simply exist on social media, or do you want to
use it to make a difference – to your customers, to your culture, to your
bottom line?
“Social
media allows you to find your potential customer in a much easier way,” says Matt Kreikemeier,
founder of Leverage New Age Media,
a creative and tech agency based out of St. Louis, Missouri. “Not only can you
target and search specific demographics and interests across these platforms,
but you can go one step further and analyze the interests of current customers
and learn where you should next promote your product – fan pages, tech forums,
blogs, and other similar outlets.”
According
to research
by Deloitte, 75 percent of online Americans say product information
found on social channels influences their shopping behavior and enhances brand
loyalty.
You sell
digital products, so 100 percent of your customers are online, and they are
most tech-savvy consumers out there. Whether you have a large budget with a
team of experts or you are tackling social media with limited resources, you’ve
got to know what you’re doing. We’ve put together some simple tips to help you
make the most of your social media presence.
1. Have a Strategy
Whether
your social media is produced in-house or through an agency, it’s imperative to
have a real plan. Social media can be the most visible part of your marketing
mix, so you want to make sure it’s well thought out and impactful.
Companies
no longer have interns running their social media campaigns. They have skilled
experts who not only know social media, but also understand analytics and
reporting, as well as the company’s strategy, brand voice and message.
“A true
social media strategy makes a world of difference, but can be one of the most
difficult aspects of your marketing strategy to maintain because of its ‘always
on’ nature,” says Kreikemeier. “Have a strategy and stick to it. Develop a
brand voice or content pillars to ensure your message is consistent and on
brand. Be responsible and promote brand safety – don’t let just anyone tweet on
behalf of your brand.”
A number
of variables affect your strategy, like company size, culture, product lines
and budget. Dell Software has a
very specific social media strategy that includes training and certification to
ensure any employees representing Dell on social media know how to
appropriately present the company.
“For a
company like Dell, it’s important that all employees represent the company
fairly and accurately,” says Mark Dykstra, senior
manager of Internet marketing at Dell. “Social media certification ensures that
Dell employees know the rules around social discussion of their employer and
know how to promote our products and services effectively.”
Whether
your strategy is extensive or simple, the important thing is to have one.
2. Don’t Use Every Platform
Find out
which social media tools your audience uses the most and make sure you are
there. Research each social media platform and choose the ones that make the
most sense for your goals and target market.
Each
social channel is unique and can deliver different types of benefits. For
digital products, being active on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ will
give you a well-rounded social media presence. “Know your audience, and know
how to write content specific to each channel,” says Dykstra. “Each channel is
a different in terms of demographics, styles, etc.”
Facebook
With more
than one billion users around the globe, your customers are looking for you
here. Facebook provides the largest opportunity to communicate with your
customers. Check out companies you admire and see what they are doing on
Facebook to connect with their audience.
Twitter
With 5,700 tweets
per second, Twitter requires constant monitoring, and can be
overwhelming. But if you take the time to delve in, it can serve you well.
“People love Twitter because of its easily digestible content,” says
Kreikemeier. “You can leverage the ‘instant gratification’ we all crave, and
allow users to take action in the moment – greatly increasing your conversion
ratio versus a website sign-up form.”
LinkedIn
As the
largest business-focused platform, LinkedIn attracts key decision makers. More
C-level executives are on LinkedIn than any other social media platform. Users
may not be as “active” on LinkedIn as compared to the other big social media
sites. So you may get fewer eyeballs, but make more meaningful connections.
LinkedIn could be a great place to schedule regular posts, but you should
probably look elsewhere when looking for active participation in a product
launch or contest.
Google+
“Google+
has a fairly substantial tech community made up of early adopters and other
tech enthusiasts, which makes for a great environment for targeting users who
are eager to support new products and ideas,” says Kreikemeier. “However, it
can be a slow process to build a community on Google+ so it wouldn’t hurt to
mirror your Google+ strategy over to Facebook as well, since they are so
similar.”
3. Always Be On
Instant
gratification is why people love social media. Your customers expect a quick
response. Make sure you give it to them.
“People
are going to talk about your product whether you are there or not, so you might
as well be there listening, engaging, learning and refining,” Kreikemeier says.
“Social media allows you to put a ‘face’ to a company or product, humanizing
your brand and building a reputation you control. You are then free to
communicate with your customer base in a more natural way.”
Staying
on top of your social media accounts can be intimidating and time-consuming.
Lucky for you, there are a variety of tools to help you. From scheduling posts
to compiling metrics, there are plenty of useful tools to help you master your
social media accounts – like HootSuite and TweetDeck – and many are free. So
take advantage.
Keystone
You can’t
ignore the possibilities for social media success in e-commerce. “Social media
drives traffic to our sites, resulting both in increased search engine presence
and in direct lead and revenue generation,” says Dykstra. Be willing to put in
the work to research your audience and the different social media tools. Then
create a strategy and stick to it. Use the tools that benefit your company the
most and stay active.
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