Social networks are the greatest advancement in communications to some and the scourge of our time to others. You choose. But no one can deny the community-building power of social networks. My plea to businesses and non-profits alike: ignore it at your peril.
Never used an online social network?
Maybe you even think no one in your industry does. HOW EXCITING! You can set the standard! You don’t think your community is online? Where do you think they go for movie times? If someone in your industry builds a good social network, they will come.
Here are a couple of basics to keep in mind:
1. Social networks are not yours. They’re “outposts.” You don’t own any of the information on these sites. Make sure you’re maintaining your website/blog and database in-house.
2. Social networks are not directories. They’re social by nature. If you treat them as a directory by throwing up a profile and never visiting the site again, you will see no fruit from your efforts.
3. Social networks are human. Never engage in behavior you would not exhibit in a face to face interaction. You wouldn’t walk up to a potential business contact you’ve met for the first time and jump to “Buy Now” any more than you would ask someone to marry you after a first date. Inundating your social networking contacts with sales gobbledygook will alienate you. Just be human.
Some First Steps Toward Using Social Networks For Marketing
1. Think about the community you’re looking to build and sketch out some basic “buyer personas” (or volunteer/donor personas if you’re a non-profit). Be specific. Write characteristics about at least three individuals you can imagine being part of your group. Click here for some examples.
2. Check the demographics of some of the most popular social networking sites and choose where you’re going to expend the majority of your energy.
3. After you’ve chosen your platforms (LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are the bare minimum), map out how you’re going to engage with them on a daily basis. You can link your updates so that you don’t have to update all three. Set aside some time to go through some tutorials, watch some videos.
4. Be consistent. Ghost-town profiles can hurt you more than help you. Be honest with yourself about your organization’s bandwidth. Choose some community managers to spread out the work if you can. The most important thing is to plan. Put it on your calendar with alarms until it becomes a habit.
Great Reading
1. How Well Do You Know Your Buyer Personas? by David Meerman Scott on his blog, Web Ink Now. This man is another one of my marketing heroes. He wrote books like World Wide Rave and The New Rules of Marketing & PR. He’s worked with everyone from Cisco to the US Airforce, but my favorite thing about him is the fact that he discovered a new way of doing things. He believed in it so much that he went out and did things that way whether his contemporaries understood it or not. And now he gets to write for the Huffington Post. My hero!
2. Separating Personal and Professional Networks Online by Andy Shaindlin of Alumni Futures. Mr. Shaindlin shares his experiences about what I know so many people struggle with as they approach the new world of social networking.
3. 10 Fresh Tips for Community Managers from Mashable. I love this post because it speaks to the issues we face when we’ve already jumped into the deep end and might need some guidance and gentle reminders.
