By Larry Stopa, President of E-Power Marketing
Social Media provides a powerful means to interact with your target audience. Listen to what is being said about your brand in social chatter. Is that the perception you want? If not, Social Media offer channels to change audience perception. When posting on Social Media sites, don’t limit your communications to your brand. Expand your messages to topics that interest your audience.
With so many options, focus on Social channels where your target audience is involved. It is better to be active on a select few where your brand can appear with a strong presence. Understanding the demographics of the individual social channels will help you decide which ones will be the best fit for your brand:
Facebook has over 1 billion active users across demographics. Your brand needs to be there and to be actively engaged. Market your Facebook presence on your website, offline, and online including on Facebook and other Social Media channels. Show your brand off visually. Be compelling and creative with your posts. Stand ready to have a dialogue with your Fans.
Pinterest is even more visual. Women make up the majority of Pinners on this channel, but the male population on Pinterest is on the rise! Show off your brand in its various environments and lifestyles. Create topical and seasonal boards to keep the profile fresh year-round. Don’t pin images from just your website. Create a diverse presence for your fans.
Twitter is a savvy way to reach younger demographics and the technically mature. Tweet news about your brand as well as what is important to your audience. Follow influential tweeters in your market and follow your fans and those interacting with your branded account. Gather market feedback and start discussions to keep fans engaged.
Do you have videos? It’s incredible how popular videos are on YouTube and Vimeo. How To’s work great. So do commercials if they are entertaining. Don’t shy away when someone makes parodies of your ads. That means you have arrived.
Use LinkedIn to network with your industry. Tell them who you are as a company and as individuals. Join LinkedIn Groups to discuss the issues facing your market.. Post updates from your company page to your followers.
What are Consumers Saying about Your Brand?
Your Social Media activities will generate plenty of market feedback. But you still need to extend your eyes and ears further across the web to learn all that your market is saying. Free and inexpensive tools like Google Alerts, HootSuite and Whos Talkin are powerful at searching the web to gather what is being said about your brand and your competitors.
Consider what consumers are saying. You may want to join in their dialogue. Certainly if false information is being said, you should correct it. But don’t become defensive. People see right through you. So be genuine. When you find complaints about your product or brand, don’t ignore them or try to hide them. Use those complaints as opportunities to provide great customer service. If you can fix the issue, do it. If you can’t fix it, apologize and try to move on. No one is perfect. If you publicly work to fix a mistake you will foster a deeper sense of trust in your brand.
Make Your Brand at Home on the Web
Your brand needs to be active online where your customers spend so much time. Make it easy for them to find you online. When they do, be ready to engage them and to listen. If you do, you’ll make your brand shine online.
Miss the first installment? Read “Using Online Marketing to Build Branding – Part 1” now!
About the Author:
Larry Stopa established E-Power Marketing in 1998. He has followed the evolution of the web and search engines to guide businesses to best use always changing online marketing strategies.
Do you have a question or a situation about online marketing that you want to discuss? Email Larry Stopa at larry@epower.com
