Social Media Marketing Tips for 2014
Facebook is eating away a lot of time off many internet users nowadays, and one new year’s resolution could be to spend less time on it or other social media site. However, this can get tricky if you are using Facebook for social media marketing.
Elaine Pofeldt, contributor for Forbes.com, interviewed Michael Fernandez, Factory 360 owner and co-founder. Factory 360 is a company that “specializes in events production and experiential marketing. Combining traditional marketing techniques with events tactics, the agency uses emerging trends and cultural changes to engage consumers on an emotional level.” Some of Factory 360’s clients are PayPal, Chase, ESPN, and SVDEKA Vodka.
In this interview, Fernandez provides some tips regarding how to use Facebook and other social media sites for better marketing.
1. Make Facebook your main social media site. Do this because according to Fernandez, most customers will primarily go to this site to know more about you. You don’t have to create a social media presence in many channels, but if you have to choose one, choose Facebook.
Furthermore, Fernandez adds that you can couple Facebook with other social media sites that showcase more specific functionalities. For example, Pinterest is more of a site that displays photos, while Youtube is more video-based. If your business is more of a visual type, then you can have an effective social presence in both Facebook and Pinterest.
(Image: localmarketer (CC) via Flickr)
2. Regularly maintain your social media sites. When you don’t regularly update your pages, people who visit them will think that you stopped your business. That can definitely be far from the truth, but in this internet age, your social media page is the first window to how your business is actually doing.
3. Use HootSuite Pro. Having a HootSuite account allows you to put up posts in various social media accounts simultaneously from a dashboard. Here, you can also check all the comments in all your sites without having to open various tabs for each of your social media accounts.
4. Listen to your customers regularly. This can be done by establishing a consistent daily habit. For example, you can check your account three times a day, in the morning, afternoon and evening. Check for any customer grievances, responding accordingly before their concerns get bigger.
Fernandez adds that a single person’s voice in social media “is as loud as 10,000. It’s not a dialogue between you and one person. It’s between you and everyone who’s watching in this arena.” As such, you need to be a regular listener of customer complaints. Otherwise, a hullabaloo is bound to happen instantaneously.
5. Don’t start an argument in a public social media page. When a user posts a negative comment in your page, message him or her privately. Start a conversation with the complainant privately.
