Effective social media excites your customer, makes them think, and creates interaction. But it takes long-term commitment, think of it like watering a plant, but instead you're watering your customer for growth.

Effective social media reaches into their brain and excites your customer, makes them think, and creates interaction. But it takes nurturing and long-term commitment. Think of it like watering a plant, but instead, you’re watering your customer for growth.

Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Reddit, blogs. The seemingly endless list of social media keeps growing and evolving. Do you feel like your company needs a presence in the social sphere, but you don’t know where to start? Or do you have an eager Millennial in your office whom you’ve let loose and entrusted to represent your brand online, but you really don’t have a clue what they’re doing? Well, before entering into a social media strategy, you really need to ask yourself what your goals are, and then understand how social media platforms can help you meet them.

We’ve all seen the Facebook page where the last post is from two years ago, welcoming a then-new staff member. Or the Tweet with the unfortunate typo in it. Or the LinkedIn profile that doesn’t even have the correct name of the company (How does LinkedIn create those company pages anyway?) Rather than joining the social media fray to check it off the list, a better strategy is to take the time to build an ongoing presence that adds value for your customers.

WHAT PEOPLE EXPECT FROM SOCIAL MEDIA

While social media is a very valuable tool, it must be taken seriously and managed appropriately. The beauty of social media is that it allows businesses to create conversations with their customers in real-time. But those conversations can turn bad if you try and “set it, and forget it,” like the Ronco Showtime Rotisserie Oven. Because it is interactive, people expect more than just a static presentation of your products, locations and business hours. You need to engage them and in turn they have the potential to become advocates for your company as you build a relationship with them.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO

Using social media you can certainly communicate information about your company, but think about going beyond that. Here are three top ways to make your customers’ social media experience rewarding:

  • Adjacent Content—Sharing information about adjacent content builds relevancy for your brand. If you’re in the business of selling umbrellas, sharing the Farmers’ Almanac prediction for the upcoming rainy season may be helpful.
  • Tips and Tricks—A great social media tool, whether you sell products or services, is to develop and publish tips and tricks. Everyone wants to know a helpful way to save time or feel like they’re an insider in the know.
  • Soliciting Feedback—There are obviously no shortages of opinions on the internet—this one included—so why not harness the power of social media to help develop products, services or just the theme of the company holiday party.

All of these types of interactions help to build interest in and loyalty to your brand as you create connections with your customers and they feel some ownership in what happens with your business. There are many goals that social media can help achieve and it can be a very powerful tool for your company. But as uncle Ben said, “With great power comes great responsibility”. So look before you leap into the social scene.

Check out the Beginners Guide to Social Media an excellent resource from the SEO experts at Moz. This easy to read guide will give you an overview of best practices and an introduction to all the major social media platforms.

Join us next Monday for our take on Helvetica and how the indie film claims it affects our lives, as well as more font fun.