The Top Five Social Media Marketing Laws You Have To Know
Doesn’t it drive you insane when you scroll through your Facebook page and every second thing you see is some random ad or post that is about as interesting and relevant to you as a shoe advert would be to a snake? What is it with these so-called targeted ads that persistently and irritatingly speckle our social media feeds? It seems that, despite having access to incredibly sophisticated and clever ad targeting technology, brands are still getting it woefully wrong. In fact, a worrying two-thirds of social media users find the number of promotions that clog up their feeds annoying. And 26 percent actively ignore social media marketing content altogether!
Yet, with two billion Facebook users alone, social media represents a massive pool of potential customers brands simply cannot afford to ignore. So what’s the solution? If you advertise on social media, you risk irritating millions of people, but if you don’t advertise, you risk missing out on an almost bottomless pit of potential revenue. The secret, dear reader, is to follow the rules. Stick to a few tried and tested social media marketing laws and not only will you not annoy people, you’ll sprinkle magic fairy dust all over them and make them fall in love with you. Well, with your brand! If you’re looking for relationship matchmaking, you are so reading the wrong blog!
The Five Best Social Media Marketing Laws Of Attraction
To get people to engage with your social media marketing, you simply have to do one thing: Make it not feel like marketing. Don’t get all “look at how awesome this is – buy it, buy it!” Taking that kind of sales-y, arrogant approach is instantly irritating. Consumers don’t want to be sold to, they want to be engaged with. They want to be entertained, educated and informed. You have to make them look for future posts from you. You want them to share your content. And you need them to see your brand as a trusted friend to whom they can turn for reliable advice.
How do you do this? You follow these social media marketing laws!
Rule 1: Be You, But Be Useful Too!
Consumers are open to social media marketing content – as long as you can get it past their own, personal inbuilt spam detectors. People love authenticity – be genuine and you will get their attention. Consumers are better informed now about pretty much everything, so you’re not going to get away with baffling them with BS. Instead, give them authentic content that’s relevant and useful, instead of disruptive.
Rule 2: Be Accessible
Consumers these days are more than a little demanding. They’re like toddlers who throw tantrums when ignored, and they will throw your brand on the floor and stomp on it if you don’t give them what they want when they want it. Unlike toddlers, however, making them sit on the naughty step until they’ve calmed down isn’t going to help. Instead, you have to give them what all tetchy toddlers actually want – you, and your time. You have to be there for them when they need you. So, respond to those comments about your social media posts. It’s all part of building stronger and more personal relationships with your customers.
Rule 3: Be Like Julius Caesar
And lend them your ears! OK, so it was actually Caesar who asked his friends, Romans and countrymen to lend him their ears, but the point is this: You need to listen to consumers. Successful social media marketing means less talking, more listening. So read what your ideal consumers are saying online and listen to their opinions. Join in discussions to find out what matters to them. This information is gold – use it to create content that adds value instead of irritation.
Rule 4: Be Influential
Who are the people in your market who already have loyal followers and quality audiences that are likely to be interested in your business? Find them, and then connect with them! You need to build relationships with people with influence online. If they get to know your brand as a source of interesting, credible and authoritative content, they may share it with their own followers. This introduces your business – and your influence – to a brand new set of potential customers.
Rule 5: Be Compound
As with desirable interest on your bank account, desirable social media marketing content should be compounding in nature. In other words, if you regularly publish fantastic content that people love, they’ll share it with others. Those others will share it with more others. Suddenly, you’re showing up on everybody’s Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook feed. The more your content is shared, the more likely Google is to find you in keyword searches. And once Google finds you, the world is pretty much yours for the taking.
At The Digital Coach, we’re not usually sticklers for the rules. We like to think we can go rogue with the best of them in the interests of leveraging digital marketing to big up your awesomeness. However, when it comes to social media marketing laws, we know when we’re beat. These laws are there for a reason, and we absolutely want to help you stick to them to grow your brand. So let’s get lawfully hitched – call us today.
