Social Media: 4 Ways to Be More Like-Able on Social Networks

41% of Social Media Users Find New Brands to “Like” on Social Media; The Question is, Do Any of Them “Like” Yours?

Virtual brand-introductions lead to real sales! A marketingcharts.com survey revealed that seeing ads on social networks is the top way that social media users find out about new brands; if you feel like social media marketing is a waste of time, it might simply be because you aren’t letting your brand’s social profiles do their real job.

Topping even organic search, for social network brand engagers, seeing ads on social networks is the most common way they find out about new brands according to a September 2013 survey on marketingcharts.com.  And if you add the 41% who indicated that social network ads were most effective to the 33% who said that they’d discovered new brands by reading social media posts, status updates and other items in their “feeds” you have an even more convincing majority.

But social media marketing can be frustrating, especially if the investment of time and resources don’t yield any identifiable marketing returns.  A mashable.com article titled The Reality of Social Media Marketing Crushes Expectations perfectly encapsulates the emotions of those who can’t seem to make social media marketing pay off for them:

Talk to Tanya Lotzof and you’ll sense the frustration. After a month under the tutelage of a social media marketing consultant, Lotzof says she feels like she has little to show for the time and money she spent promoting her business on Facebook. “I didn’t go to school for this,” Lotzof says. “This is not what I do. If I knew what I was doing, I would do it.”

Lotzof is certainly not alone!

Many individuals, from small business owners juggling a lot of different types of responsibilities to marketing professionals that don’t have a lot of experience navigating the social media marketing landscape, find it hard to retrieve (or at least to identify) a direct return on their social network marketing efforts.

Lack of return on investment of time and resources spent on social media marketing is likely to end up frustration that results in abandonment of social media marketing – and leave the field wide open for competitors who stuck it out long enough to find a winning social media marketing formula. 

Effective social media marketing: 4 ways to be more “likeable” on social networks and get more followers, leads, customers and sales in the process 

1.  Stop selling.

If all of your social status updates are calls to action – to buy – then it’s like you’re proposing to someone you just met on a blind date!  View social status updates and profile pages as a place to put your best foot forward with a view toward educating people about your business over the long term.  Otherwise – just as if you’d proposed on a first date – you’re much more likely to scare that prospect away, instead.

2.  Put some effort into your appearance. 

Let’s stick with our dating analogy.  If you were on a blind date or first date with someone and didn’t spend any time preparing so that you would look your best, you aren’t going to be likely to make a good first impression.  Spend time updating your profile pages so that they look modern and make sure that they look professional and engaging.

3.  Give people time to get to know you. 

Without a little back and forth, question and answer sharing, neither of the two people out on this first date we have been using in our analogy are likely to know whether they want to see one another again.  Use social media profiles and status updates to let people know more about your business.  Put the spotlight on employees so that the public knows your business is a great place to work. Use customer testimonials to talk about your products and services rather than marketing copy.  Use stories to highlight the type of shared values customers will experience for themselves when they choose to do business with you.

4.  Give people a reason to want to see you again. 

Having been “introduced” on social networks, your job is to entice the prospects you want to see again to want to see your business again, too.  Your social media status updates need to be engaging and interesting to members of your target markets if you want to see them again!  Your next date may be on social networks, or you may be able to move deeper into your relationship by engaging via email subscription, website visit, contact form submission or even a visit to your brick and mortar location.

A social media introduction can lay the foundation for hundreds – or even thousands – of long term relationships.  Be more “likeable” and you will find that social media marketing can be an effective, ROI-producing member of your overall marketing plan!

Related articles

• 10 Examples of Social Media ROI [Infographic] (business2community.com)
• The One Thing You Must Do To Succeed in Business (dbsquaredinc.com)

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