Integrating
social media marketing into your brand’s interactive marketing plan has become a must as the web is now the main social hub for consumers. Utilizing social media helps place your brand into the midst of this online chatter. One way to get your brand message out there is via the social web. Blogs and forums are now the primary locations where consumers go to vent about brands and service. They also can provide you with the means to connect with these consumers to help make sure their emoticon frowns are turned upside down when it comes to your brand.
If the idea of participating in the social web conversation makes you nervous and twitchy, however, remember that in many ways, communicating your message this way is much like carrying on a conversation with someone about your brand. The following are a few basics to keep in mind to ensure your social web efforts provide you with the end results you want.
Find a safe place to talk
First off, you don’t want to try to start a conversation on blogs or forums that are anti-commercial or, worse yet, anti-your brand. You have to find a place where the participants want to listen and will let you speak. An open and impartial forum is better than the online equivalent of walking into a sports bar wearing your team’s colors and finding out that this is the hangout for your rival’s most rabid fans.
Be sincere
When you do find a place to start your conversation, don’t pretend to be something or someone that you’re not. Make it clear upfront that you represent the brand you are promoting. Don’t pretend to be a random blogger who is an advocate of your brand. Companies that try to pass themselves off this way inevitably get caught. And on the Internet, this will get your brand hammered, creating the sort of buzz you do not want.
Know what you want to talk about
It’s important to have some direction to your conversation. Decide beforehand what your brand’s message will be and then start hitting the social web. Nothing kills a conversation like awkward silences and even more awkward displays of inept conversational skills. If you know what you want to say, you’ll have an easier job saying it and getting your brand message across effectively.
Talk and listen
As in any conversation, you need to listen to the person you’re talking to as well as respond to them. And you have to do so in a way that makes it clear you actually are listening to and interested in what they are saying. Which leads to the next point…
Don’t strong-arm the conversations
You can start the conversation. You can participate in the conversation. You can’t control it. If you try to bully its participants and forcefully steer the conversation, people won’t want to talk with you and will view your brand in a negative light. And thus the bad buzz begins.
Don’t wander off….
If you want to be successful on the social web, you have to be committed to keep talking. Imagine if you start a conversation with a group of people, participate for a few minutes, and then disappear. It would be as if the people you are talking to turn their heads for a moment and when they look back, you’re gone. The first step in earning your audiences trust is to convey that their thoughts and comments matter, and that requires your commitment to the conversation.
…But don’t be afraid to allow the conversation to continue without you
While it is important that you don’t abandon your audience, it is acceptable if they continue the discussion independently. Word of mouth will spread as your initial participants go off and further discuss your brand with others. If your efforts have gone well, these participants will become advocates for your brand, and the positive buzz for your brand will continue without any additional effort by you.
Just the beginning
Hitting the social web is just one element of a social media marketing campaign. As you move your overall campaign forward, remember that social media marketing is not a quick fix solution; it’s a long haul commitment. So make sure you have a glass of water handy to keep your throat from getting dry, because you’re going to have to talk a while to get the sort of results you really want. Keep in mind that you don’t have to do it all on your own.
LeapFrog Interactive can assist your brand in successfully launching and continuing an integrated social media marketing program as part of your interactive marketing strategy.
