Social Media Mistakes
Is there room for improvement with your social media
The major mistakes many companies make with social media is forgetting to provide value to their fans and followers. Do you provide information that has value to your fans? Are you looking for feedback to see what those who are following are looking for or expecting? For larger companies and corporations are you offering discounts to those who follow? If your not it is no wonder facebook and your other social media are not performing as you would like.
What to consider and how can you add value
Consider what you are looking for from your social media. If you find a fan page full of links what are you going to do? When you see nothing but business links from someone on twitter how do you feel? We just pass them up and look for something which gives us value. Fan pages are about offering value to the followers it’s not about you. Social media is about finding your niche then giving value to it.
Add value with what you are passionate about and we are not talking business here for smaller users. Larger companies or corporations need to add value by offering discounts on their goods or having contests. Even smaller marketers can run contests. Especially if you know how to do something others haven’t learned yet. You can even offer to teach people new skills as a contest prize.
Are you adding value?
Social media tips from the Amish
Take a lesson from the Amish, they don’t use computers yet ninety percent are still in business after five years. They use everything they are allowed to use to their advantage. Word of mouth throughout their entire community often does them no good. The majority are too far away to buy goods. They have learned to use people outside the faith to spread the word. This is what social media is about, getting others to spread the word. Not using these sites properly is a mistake.
Certain types of things people are passionate about are easy to link. The people who love pets are a good example. Putting in a link every once and a while about a pet products website, either an owned website or an affiliate site is almost expected. Though it shouldn’t be an every day occurrence.
The Amish go out of their way to make sure a customer is satisfied. They more than most realize how much damage a dissatisfied customer can cause. What hurts the name of one Amish business hurts the entire community. Something to think about, on the internet we have all have been hurt by people who have shoddy products or ones which have provide no real value to the end user.
Visitors are searching for answers
Old school applies here, people still want answers. They are liking and following you to find them. Value is important be sure to provide it. The answer can be a discount on something they will buy, learning something they don’t know, or a contest which gives the winner something (they) value. Think about your product and timing. You need to maintain value year round even if your selling a seasonal product. It helps to remember no matter what season you sell to it is that season somewhere in the world. Other places in the world are in a different season and you need to fill a need for them also.
Use a time pattern
It is important to remember, use your social media daily. For most it is hard, some work jobs and have a limited amount of time, companies and corporations often overlook making new posts not truly seeing the value. As a company or corporation use a team approach with one person given the final responsibility for daily posting.
For small and one man businesses, and those running part time, as you are going through your day take a few minutes here and there to look around to find something worth posting. When you find it, write it down, email it to yourself, or leave a message on your home phone with your idea. Remember to check the email account and your phone messages which will remind you to make the post.
If you have your own marketing website remember the more people who like and share your link the better your search engine optimization is going to be. You never want people to feel it is being asked of them. People who link and share in a positive way are building your reputation which is now taken into consideration in your search engine ranking.
When posting to social media you should always use a time pattern. This applies to part time marketers as well as large corporations. Post at the same times and on the same days because people will come to expect your post when you use a time pattern.
What you gain using a pattern is people sharing and commenting on your posts. This helps with Search engine optimization.
With social media you must remember the end user
.Almost every person we have met is making one or more mistakes with their social media. If you want yours to be as effective as possible consider the end user. Make sure they are receiving value and they will remain your fan or follower.
© Feb, 11, 2012 Dennis Thorgesen Lisech eMarketing and consulting
© updated November 4, 2014 Dennis Thorgesen, Lisech eMarketing and consulting
Social sharing for search engine optimization and immediate readers
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Comments
I think the readers are looking for answers will stick with me for a long time!
I am passionate about learning and open to receive all the knowledge I need to be a better writer. I enjoy social media and appreciate your excellent and well presented hub. It's so important to "get it right" as early as possible.
One of the perks for being a member of hubpages is knowledge and information available. The prospect of meeting people like you is nothing short of exciting.
Thank you for taking time to write this informative and helpful hub. Voted up!
I think this is very sensible advice. I love that you brought up the example of the Amish and then stated that many are still in business after five years. That's longer than typical small businesses. Voting this Up and Useful.
I have read a lot of hubs on blogging and how to make money doing it wheelinallover, and I believe you hit the nail on the head.Thank you wheelinallover, you will go for. up and useful.
Thanks for sharing these terrific points. I use most of my social media sites for my hub and sharing other hubs I come across. But lately, work has taken me out of town so I can't contect with everyone as I would like. In many ways it makes me feel as if I am letting my fans and followers down, since I can't communicate with them. I set up a FB page for our business, but hardly update it. I can see by your advice here how that can hurt more than help my business. Voted up!
I like the Amish example. Living in central PA I've had the opportunity to do business with several Amish over the years and have gained a lot of respect for their business model. Social networking, I never thought of it way. But it is exactly that and they do it well.
The Amish are also good at outsourcing what they can't do. I find myself on more than one Amish stores email list. Believe me, when you get an email listing what pies are coming out of the oven, the odds of you stopping for one on your way home increase greatly.
Great hub, you really have me thinking.
Grouping and commenting is my way to keep engage my visitors over facebook. Engaging in the sense to provide them what is best as per my mind. Always looking forward to find something and without hesitation, share with my friends. This is just about me.
"Social Media" great topic to share, keep it up. I hope read more from you this type of informative articles. Thanks
I am still trying to understand the concepts of social media.
Thanks for sharing
This is good advice. I agree that we have to not be so selfish with social media. I think we forget the "social" part and sometime make it "me" media. Great hub, as always!
I'm tryin' ....so much to learn and thanks for the help. I vote this up am SHARING!
Your hub was so interesting and actually helped me answer some questions I had about writing. Thanks.
Voted up & shared.
A very good hub. At the end of the day, it is a community, allbeit online. This means that to know people, make friends and interest people, you have to communicate. Just posting links is the equivalent of someone in a town sticking posters in their window ... it will have far less affect than someone interested in and helping the community.
Thanks for SHARING you tips, up, useful and tweeted.
Thanks for your Hub, I just published a Hub concerning viral marketing, that touched base on some of these ideas. Though it was more based on using ads appropriately to gain some income from the traffic you generate from viral marketing. The two together will certainly give advantages to those who follow the ideas expressed. Voted up and useful.
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