May 18 2011
The best part about social media marketing is right in the name: social. Being social requires people to interact with others on some sort of field. Social media marketing allows for this direct and personal interaction with the networks users. Many people that are first starting out with social media fall short of this duty of interacting with the people they’re connected with. Having a social media profile is just the beginning! Here are a few reasons why you need to be actively engaging your audience:
If users are responding to your posts, this means that your posts are relevant and interesting enough that people will take the time to respond. Include questions and think statements that will make the reader feel the need to respond or have the inclination to interact back with you. Also, creating messages that allow for readers to make personal connections increases the likelihood of these readers returning to your page.
The purpose of social media is to connect with people who are interested in what you do. Interacting with these fans on a personal level will help in building these relationships that could ultimately lead to sales in the long run.
Also, creating a relationship with your audience is important because it allows you to gain honest feedback. The people you build relationships with are the people who will give you the best advice on how to improve your online marketing strategy.
If your strategy is working, chances are you will know! You will see results and your social media pages will show it. If you are not seeing any results, try something else. Change the tone of your message to make it more interesting. Create messages that allow readers to make a connection with what you’re saying. Cater to your audience – understand who your audience is and what you’re trying to say to them. If you have a solid relationship with your audience, don’t be afraid to ask for feedback and if there are things you can improve upon.
Try FREE for 5 Days!
Thanks, Krista. Good advice. It sure helps to continuously foster and nurture relationships with your key audiences — especially with key people in those audiences. As for getting feedback, even simple tests can help. I’ve found it very helpful just watching a target audience member nevigate our website, or doing a mockup of a brochure and seeing how the audience responded.