On its most prescient level, social media can personalize the relationships businesses have with their clients.
Unfortunately, too many companies are slow to comprehend this smoking hot tenet of social media decorum and experience lackluster brand campaign results due to poor implementation.
We cannot fault them entirely because social media is still so new.
I will concede that the freshness of it all can make determining the proper approach more difficult.
There is no one size fits all method anymore –the old rules applying to marketing, public relations and advertising do not apply and should be given the heave-ho.
Still, companies rush to get a Facebook page or Twitter presence as soon as possible and without giving it adequate thought, for fear of being left behind.
In their haste to be just like everyone else and join the party, they all too often fail at reaching the very customers they had hoped to, by not carefully considering what it is they are trying to convey.
Before getting that Facebook page constructed or your company blog or Twitter presence accounted for, take enough time to figure a way to put something fun in your message.
Businesses can otherwise be boring.
But they do not have to be.
Your business can be a lot of fun or at least sound like fun to customers considering doing business with you, if your communications team is clever and gets the importance of delivering this concept.
You can get across to potential customers how professional, experienced and competent you are, simultaneously, also.
You need to first take a look at the social media tools you are using.
Is the concept of fun even evident in the slightest in any of them?
It is if you are sharing.
That is what social media is all about.
People display a way of life on their Facebook pages that projects warmth and generates smiles for their friends and family members. The more interesting ones share something personal about themselves that appears fun, too, as in, “Man that looks like they are having such a great time!”
In addition to showing your company and employees understand the importance of a sense of humor in their day-to-day activities, does your social media presence demonstrate the culture is also one of kindness, integrity and the feeling everyone on your teams is engaged and truly has each other’s backs?
I can hear the doubters doubting and the haters hating right now.
To not read further is to miss the “meat” of this meat and potatoes, business social media primer.
As I am always consulting with folks, my suggestions on how to achieve this important personalization of your company’s brand and message, always come back to telling a story.
Soulless, technical and impersonal dissertations have no place in your social media campaign.
What will always catch someone’s eye, heart and whet their appetite for further involvement with you, is a well-told story.
At their best, Facebook status updates, Tweets and blogs are telling a story that people enjoy reading and seeing.
Hopefully in the case of your business, these stories are compelling ones.
It is easy to show how professional and capable your company, product or service is.
When you make your message personal, though, it actually sticks.
Let the gains begin.
To learn more about personalizing your business social media efforts, click the “Contact us” link at the top left of the page and drop us a line.