Do you know a business that is getting into social media but doesn’t have a strategy?
This is a pretty common conversation I hear these days:
"We are into social media."
"Good. What are you doing?"
"You know, Tweeting, Facebook. We have a fantastic product and people want to know about it. So we are using social media to get the word out."
This is delusional.
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If everyone thinks their product or service is fantastic – which they do – then there are only great products and services. Does this sound like your experience as a consumer?
Tip #1: Businesses have to start thinking like consumers in order to be effective in this social media game.
Not a bad business strategy overall, come to think of it.
It shouldn’t be hard to achieve because business owners and employees are consumers already. What do consumers want? They want their needs to be more important than yours. They want the conversation to be about them. This should help you plan your social media strategy.
It isn’t just about how many followers and friends you have. It’s about how engaged those followers and friends are with you.
Which leads me to the second tip.
Tip #2: Stop talking to people about how great you are and start asking them instead how you can meet their needs. This will create engagement.
It might mean your business evolves. Perfect. Businesses that don’t evolve have a shelf life. Evolution based on consumer needs seems pretty sound to me.
Go fishing where the fish are. Just don’t start telling the fish what a fantastic fisherman you are.
This piece was originally published on Copeland Communications.