Post Control Marketing

Sometimes we forget to be social in our social media marketing. We focus too much on marketing and some marketers forget the social aspect all together. But the social part is what draws response and action. So how can we as marketers be more social while still keeping ROI in mind? Inspiration can come from other areas where business has a social purpose.

We don’t forget to be social in physical events. At networking events you don’t just walk up to people and deliver your hard sell message. You have learned some social skills and techniques. We can apply these “real life” people skills to social media.

Here are 5 ways to be more social in your social media marketing:

1. Don’t Brag. No one likes a guest who only talks about his or her accomplishments. Dr. James Pennebaker, a psychologist at the University of Texas, actually performed research about this on Facebook. He found that the higher the person’s perceived power, the less he or she used “I.” People who frequently use “I” focus on themselves. As a brand the same applies. The less you talk about yourself, the higher your perceived importance and value. Talk about your consumers and brag on their accomplishments.

2. Ask questions & Listen. How do you feel when someone asks you a question and is genuine in wanting a response? Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends and Influence People, includes “Be a good listener” as one of the most powerful things you can do to be likeable and influential. After 70 years and over 15 million copies this advice is still true. As a brand listen to your consumers and ask questions to gain insight into their opinions and desires. Imagine how important and valued they will feel if you actually act on some of their thoughts.

3. Know current topics. Current events are always an ice breaker at social events. From the weather to the latest news headlines, these topics help build bridges of common knowledge. Yet many companies seem so out of touch. What if a company had something relevant to say about something that happened today? Digital Sherpa says that by tapping into a trending topic a marketer increases their social reach by simply joining the conversation. Trending topics will give you content ideas, but also an opportunity to reach your audience without having to pay for it on crowded platforms such as Facebook.

4. Offer a reward. What would you do for something, anything free? We love free. A secret to attract attention at conventions is to offer a free tchotchke of real or perceived value. Researchers at Duke University found that people perceive the benefits associated with free products as higher. People appear to act as if zero pricing of a good not only decreases its cost, but also adds to its benefits. As a marketer this could mean offering free products or samples as part of social media use/brand community or offer free apps and games.

5. Tell a joke. We don’t all have to be stand up comedians to tell a simple joke or offer a funny observation on life, an industry or situation. Sometimes people just want a laugh. Why is humor so powerful? Psychology Today tells us that humor is ubiquitous. Every person and culture relates to laughter. Many times humor pulls people together. Humor smoothes awkward social and cultural interactions. In addition, humor is good for us. It is good for your health by helping reduce stress and anxiety. Funny people also receive positive attention and admiration. Has your social activity been a little too serious?

When planning your next social media post or campaign, take a step back and think about the “real” people skills you already know and how you can use them in this virtual social world. What other people skills could be valuable in social media?

My father in-law has a pool and a jukebox. So gratefully my family and I get to spend much of our summers swimming and listening to rock from the 50s & 60s. One of our favorite tunes is “Those Lazy Crazy Days of Summer” by Nat King Cole.

“Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer. Dust off the sun and moon and sing a song of cheer.” Nat King Cole makes a great point. Summers are different and our social media plans should reflect that change.

Summer has some big time holidays and events. Nicole Karlis of Social Media Today says to plan your strategies around holidays like Wimbledon, Independence Day, World Cup, and Labor Day. This makes a lot of sense, because these will be trending topics during the summer as people search to plan holiday events or are searching for updates on the big sport competitions of the summer. Some have seen impressive results such as increasing organic search traffic by 20% in 2 months.

Summer moves at a different pace. Robin Neifield of ClickZ tells us that we should do more than connect to the summer holidays. We can also tap into the changes in behaviors and shifts in priorities. Consumers respond differently in summer when their priorities and schedules have shifted and this should impact the messaging and promotions you send out. In the summer people read more, socialize more, are outdoors more, eat out more, work less, and travel more. Your consumer is changing their searching, viewing, and surfing habits. Have you adjusted or are you running the same strategy year around?

Some brands and products go well with summer. These brands create campaigns around the season. Last summer Lays Potato Chips did this by celebrating “Making Summers Perfects for 75 Years.” The summer theme came with summer content of 75 models of summer imagery made from potato chip bags posted on Facebook and Twitter. It also came with a summer promotion encouraging fans to share their summer pictures for a chance to win a $75 gift card.

What is your social media summer strategy? Have you leveraged the main summer holidays and sporting events, shifted your messaging and promotions for summer search and schedules, or tied your brand into a summer themed campaign? Just because we’re “Rolling out the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer” doesn’t mean your social media has to go on hiatus.