ANNIVERSAY ISSUE 0717

...from page 29
Don’t wait until the last minute to sow your
social media seeds. Building genuine followings on
social media takes time. Unless your Justin Bieber,
you’re probably not going to get 10,000 new followers
overnight. So if you’ve got an event, a premier, or
a record debut coming up 6-, 9-, or even 12-months
out, start talking about it now on social media to
build interest and demand.Think about new film
trailers, many of which debut up to a year ahead of a
movie’s release date to generate excitement. Build
hype (awareness) and community (followers) sooner
rather than later, leading to greater frequency as you
get closer to the event. Keep it simple at first, posting
maybe three times a week, ramping up to 1 or 2
times a day as your big event/sale/or premier
approaches.
Realize that the days of organic social media
growth are over as Facebook,Twitter, and others
repress your reach if you are not advertising
on their respective platform. Not fair, you
say? It’s business—it doesn’t have to be.To maximize
your social media reach, you need to be viewed as
an advertiser, and that means paid placements in
addition to organic posts and shares.
follow
us...
Don’t go it alone—follow “influencers” in your
field or industry. Influencers are people you know
that members of your target audience are likely following.
Comment on their posts, and use hash tags
(#) so your content can be found easily, and use
@mentions so influencers know when you mention
them. Doing so will expose you and your brand to
an ever-widening audience. Impress influencers, say
or share something of value, and they’ll start to follow
you and share your content.
Count your website in your social media/marketing
mix. Building a strong community through
social is one thing, but you need to seal the deal.
Don’t forget your website! Make sure the user experience
there aligns with your social presence and
that it leads to more sales, conversions, or whatever
it is you are trying to accomplish by hyping your
brand. Just how well does your website engage visitors?
Do you have measurable performance goals
and objectives? If your website engagement does not
mesh with your social media activity, dig deeper.
Conduct surveys, examine trends, find out what you
need to do to turn growing interest in your brand
into paying customers in your sales pipeline.
Today’s consumers are savvy.They want valuable content
from the brands they buy from—content they
can embrace in their everyday lives at home, at
work, and at play.They want to become part of the
conversation, part of a community that is attracted
and loyal to your offerings.As brand devotees, they
talk about your brand, tell others, and share your
content, helping to spread the word.
Now get out there and engage!
— Paul June, King of the Jungle… out there.
www.barrelomonkeyz.com
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