CHAPTER 31
Use Social Media Strategically–Don’t Spray Paint
It’s [social media] a highly deceptive world, one that constantly asks you to comment but doesn’t really care what you have to say.
Every morning, a vast majority of people pop awake with the thought “I need to post.” Not I need to eat, call home, pray—but post. The second thought is, Post what? What words of wisdom do I have today? If you come up short, then you hope your wise friends have already written a spectacular post that you can “share.” If your friends have been slacking off, you have to go hunt for something intriguing at an official publication site and actually read and evaluate its merit before you share it.
Then, of course, there are the related tasks: reading or writing blogs, reading the day’s ezines in your inbox, catching up with what’s trending on Twitter, retweeting friends’ tweets, circling over to LinkedIn to check messages and group discussions, acknowledging all the “Likes” and comments with appropriate responses, sharing a fascinating article from Huffpo, HBR, or Forbes with a witty lead-in on GooglePlus, then checking Facebook or InstaGram to see who said what about whom. Then there’s Pinterest for keeping up with pins from competitor products and services. Then on to YouTube to search for the latest videos on your topic and competitor activities.
Do you really have this kind of time? Of course not! Posting affects productivity. Spending an hour a day on social media amounts to nine weeks a year! Nine weeks! That’s enough to complete a couple of college courses toward an advanced degree. Think what you could learn, create, build, give, or master with that time. But probably in the same breath, you’ll argue that if you disappear from this scene for a couple of weeks, people will start emailing to ask if you’ve died or if your organization has gone out of business.
Do you really have this kind of money? Maybe. Maybe not. All the social media sites started out free to users. Now that users have been enticed and hooked, the sites are all being monetized with ads or upgraded plans for users. In addition to paying for advertising and subscribing, many individuals and businesses now hire marketing teams to “participate” for them online.
Do you really have a message that stands out? Maybe. Maybe not. Social media has become white noise. Individuals and small businesses used to say that the internet and social media leveled the playing field—they could occasionally toss in a mention about their product or service on their personal pages or blog and no one would mind. But now everyone uses social media for marketing. Every day, your followers get spray painted with offers about free webinars, free teleseminars, free training, free conferences, free podcasts, free reports, free white papers, and free downloadable ebooks.
People beg you to take their giveaways. Thinking creatively in all the social media noise is like writing your dissertation in the middle of a superhighway. You may get the stimulation of new ideas, but finding space to execute them becomes another matter.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m a social person and relatively active on social media. It’s just that social media is fast evolving into a cacophony that drowns out authentic communication and drains productivity.
Are you sure people are really “there”? Maybe. Maybe not. Do you really have 379,000 “followers” on Twitter who respond when you suggest they take action? Do you really have 9,273 close “connections” on LinkedIn who would take your call? How many of your 23,267 “friends” on Facebook would recognize your name if they saw it on a billboard?
How do you use social media strategically so that it works FOR rather than AGAINST you? Of course, you could use social media for great purposes, as digital analyst Brian Solis has imagined its effect on the world: “Social media spark a revelation that we, the people, have a voice, and through the democratization of content and ideas we can once again unite around common passions, inspire movements, and ignite change.”
My assumption: You’re going to keep using social media personally and in your business. My recommendation: Use social media strategically to accomplish your specific communication goals rather than spray paint your posts everywhere, seeing what sticks where.
SELECT THE RIGHT CHANNELS
Social media experts recommend that you choose one or at most two social media platforms. Decide where your ideal customers and colleagues congregate and go there. Study the analytics for that forum—by gender, age, industry, topic, geography, and buying habits.
Learn to use that platform so you’re not struggling with the features you frequently need. If you’re going to engage on any platform, learn to play there productively. Either dig around on the platform yourself, get a neighborhood teenager to tutor you, take an online course, search how-to videos on YouTube, or learn from a younger staff member. (Going the “younger staff member” route often leads to a mutually beneficial, two-way mentoring relationship.)
LIMIT YOUR SESSION
Social media can be addictive. If you don’t believe it, notice how many minutes (or hours) you can spend on your favorite platform on a rainy Saturday afternoon when you have no family or leisure activities planned. Before you know it, your fifteen minutes has turned into five hours.
Decide how much time you can devote to social media (personal, social, or business), blogging, posting product or service offers, checking on competitive activities, making product offers, reading industry news, responding to questions in chat groups, sharing educational tips, encouraging referrals from your customers, posting case studies, introducing new product or service launches, running contests or discounts, posting routine status updates, posting thought-provoking questions, sharing your expert opinion on industry forums, and so forth. Select those that work for your business and your audience.
Then set an alarm. When time’s up, stop for the day.
DELIVER A CONSISTENT MESSAGE
As with branding on products or services, when you post, stay on topic. Yes, social media experts recommend that you let your personality shine through and post items of a personal (versus business) nature every so often at a ratio of about 10:1 (business to personal).
But in business messages, keep a consistent theme. If your firm offers legal services, you’ll get little return on posts supplying recipes or DIY home makeovers. And off-topic posts will likely confuse your followers. (Yes, such posts may get many “Likes,” but they will not necessarily get you closer to your goal of conversion.)
Your blogs, tweets, Facebook posts, YouTube videos, or Pinterest boards should not bewilder people about your overall brand and the message you want to convey—especially if your posts represent your organization. If your visitors don’t understand your value, your message, or your mission, then they’ll likely not continue the relationship.
ENGAGE PEOPLE—DON’T GET SIDETRACKED BY THE NUMBERS
Keep in mind that it’s more important to have real conversations with real people than to have a large number of followers. Post or tweet things of value. If someone comments on a post, respond sensibly. Ask questions. Listen for input. As nearly as possible, communicate with people online as you would at a get-together of your colleagues.
Then when you need to ask for help, people will respond in kind with action. And who doesn’t need help from their friends from time to time? Help with referrals and recommendations. With opinions. With answers. With resources. With leads. With sales.
DRIVE THE TRAFFIC TO YOUR OWN SITE
Consider social media like leased office space. Your landlord may permit you to add built-in shelving in the breakroom as long as you cover the expense yourself. But if the building owner decides to sell the building and tells you to find new office space, the new shelving will remain with the building. You’ll discover that your $18,000 investment to remodel is gone.
Unless the bulk of your traffic comes to your own blog, you’re in a similar situation. Building a following on social media comes with this caveat: The rules of engagement may change at any time. Because you’re building your following on rental property, proceed with caution.
Solution: Make it your ultimate goal to use your social media channels to drive traffic to your own website. There you’re a property owner, not a renter. As the domain owner, you can control the communication and the traffic.
With forethought, social media posts can be strategic in reaching your goals. Just be sure you know what your goals are! Without a strategic plan, communicating on social media is about as predictable and significant as spray paint on a very windy day.