Social Media Essentials For Your Business

Consistency means that you are always generating for your followers—while you never want to just pile arbitrary reTweets or Facebook status updates on to your profiles, you can craft conversations, reTweet relevant posts from other crafters/creators, or share a promotion from a colleague that you think your followers will appreciate.  You want to give your followers a reason to continually check in with you.

The interaction piece is integral once you’ve built up a bit of a following; by asking them questions, responding to comments or concerns, and actively asking for their feedback on your work, you are essentially telling your followers that they are a) important to you and b) crucial to your success.  These are the types of followers you want—those that will remain loyal and invested in your brand because they feel like they are a part of it.

To that end, I want to give you some tips on improving both your consistency and interaction in your social media outreach.

Consistency

• Set a specific time aside each day to work within your social media tools.  Write it down, stick to it, and don’t have it open in a sidebar while you’re trying to work.  It’s also important to schedule this at the right time for you:  I do mine right after lunch as a “break” from writing; other clients I have do it towards the end of the day as they are winding down.   Know how you work & schedule accordingly.
• Use a social media aggregator like Hootsuite.  You can see all of your tools in one spot, update across multiple channels at once, and knock it out in half the time it would take you to log in to each one individually and interact. Easy=consistent.
• Set aside a “theme day” for your Facebook page that your fans can look forward to each week. Perhaps you host “Make-It-Mondays,” where you share a cool DIY project you worked on over the weekend. Or “Tasty Tuesdays” where you might share a recipe that uses a product you’ve created (if you’re a food artisan, of course).

Interaction

• Give your followers something of value: a flash sale on Twitter, a coupon code from a complimentary brand your followers would like, or a sneak peek in to your next line of products.  You can make your customers feel like these are gifts you’ve given just to them—and they’ll return the favor by spreading your name, buying your products, and building your brand with you.
• Ask for feedback.  This is one of the most under-utilized tools when interacting with your followers.  Want to create sales?  Give them what they want.   If you’re creating new colors of your best-selling products, ask your tribe to vote on their favorites.  Get reviews (which you can in turn use on all of your marketing collateral) by just directly asking for them on your Facebook page.
• Leverage user-generated content with your own—creating user-generated content can be as simple as asking your followers to upload pictures of themselves wearing your products. (The Gap is an excellent example of a company that does this all the time.)  Add you own interactive content—maybe you host a beginner’s class in your craft online if its logistically possible.  When the two work together, you’ve got a great back & forth exchange that generates a strong bond between your brand and your followers.

Article above Posted by: Megan Gallagher on Meylah

Q: How have you successfully interacted with your followers? Leave a reply and share your experience below…