February 5th, 2010 by Angie
Is Your Social Media Strategy Like Your Favorite Jeans?
Category Marketing concepts | 7 comments »
A favorite pair of jeans is easy to identify. It’s the pair we frantically dig for Saturday morning and we’ll wear them all weekend, even if they get a ketchup or coffee stain. They’re a must have when we want to relax and watch movies…well, we might also hunt down a bag of Cheetos…oh and possibly a tub of mint chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream…
Where was I? Oh yeah, we love our favorite jeans, but they’ve got holes in them and they don’t exactly show off our best features, if you know what I mean. Interestingly, I’ve found a lot of businesses do the same thing with their Social Media strategy, and this isn’t always a good thing.
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Getting Comfortable
When you start using Social Media for your business (PDF), it’s uncomfortable. Things don’t always go where they’re supposed to and the entire thing feels strange. But, after you’ve used it for awhile, you start to get comfortable and things just seem to work. It feels natural.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with this (that awkward tweeting, blog commenting, and updating can’t exactly give your business a professional mage), but don’t get stuck in the rut either. I’m a firm believer in the concept that if you’re bored with it, your client base likely is too. Don’t be afraid to do things a little differently and let loose once in awhile (within reason, of course!).
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Not Testing and Tracking Different Options
Chances are, you and your best friend aren’t going to like the same jeans, so don’t be afraid to try a few different pairs, colors, or styles. The same can be said for Social Media concepts. Here’s what I mean:
It’s not hard to throw some buttons on a blog or website to your social profiles, but there’s a lot more to using Social Media than that. First, the public can be very fickle.
Imagine you have two sites in the same industry, selling the same things, and using similar templates and content. You’ll likely find the two audiences behave in very different ways and have different needs. It could be the feel of the site, how it was shared, who links to it, and an unlimited number of other factors.
The important thing is to take the time to test things thoroughly instead of relying on ‘well, so-and-so said it worked on his site’. Also, don’t change lots of things at once. Change one or two things and let it go for a good length of time, otherwise you’ll notice an improvement or loss and not know what caused it! Lastly, without a basic understanding of testing, you’ll find yourself unable to truly benefit from the information you’ve collected.
Oh… please, please, please, for the love of the Internet gods, PLEASE:
- use a decent analytics program
- keep track of what you’ve tested, when, and the results of each. When something goes wrong, you’ll figure out why.
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Focusing On One For Far Too Long
Most people figure out how to add social features to their website or send out links to whatever it is they’re selling. They’ll even build up a pretty good following on Facebook, StumbleUpon, Delicious, and other sites.
And just like their wardrobe, most businesses find themselves favoring one site or format over another. As a result, they end up missing out on other valuable opportunities.
A good number of businesses completely forget to complete the connection. In other words, they never think to move people from one Social Network to another or from their Social Networks to their main site. (Most users don’t just voluntarily seek you out on other sites unless you’ve made a solid personal connection with them.) And let’s face it, this is how you’re going to get the biggest bang for your buck!
Twitter works well for this. When you tweet a link to your latest blog post, for example, people who follow you will move from Twitter to your website because they have something to gain. It’s the promise of something that lures them from one place to the other. So, knowing that, why in the heck do you not do the same elsewhere and for other networks?
Use contests, games, content, and other strategy components to get people to engage and connect with you as much as you can. In most instances, it’s simply a matter of showing the value of connecting with you elsewhere (Mentioning a collection of additional tips and how tos on YouTube to blog subscribers, for example). Keep in mind, this doesn’t mean make things difficult for them! You should incorporate links, buttons, and whatever else works to make the jump from one site to another as easy as possible.
Oh, and while we’re on the subject, don’t always request things from the same network of people. Eventually, they’re going to get tired of doing this, buying that before this sale runs out, or jumping into the next exciting contest. Mix things up and try to find a good balance between the needs of your business and your followers.
Is your Social Media strategy like your favorite pair of jeans? Are you happy with the direction it’s going? Or have you gotten too comfortable with it in its current state?
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February 6th, 2010 at 5:06 am
hi…..best article for jeans it is very nice……..social media trends
February 8th, 2010 at 11:00 am
Thanks for the reminders about socializing on the web. They are so easy to forget after learned.
February 8th, 2010 at 11:22 am
This is a really great article, It makes so much sense, if you are bored with it, so are your readers. Making social media effective rather than a real turn off.
February 8th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
Good points, however I would have liked to have seen some discussion regarding the growing list of social networking sites and how to balance comfortable old wear, with buying too many new pairs of jeans and spreading yourself too thin, like many on-line types have to battle each and every day.
February 12th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
Hi Tom,
That would call for a post on its own! In my opinion, it doesn’t really matter how many Social Networks are out there because you should have a strategy in place before you ever start and only use the ones relevant to your business (for marketing, that is). Not saying this doesn’t take some experimentation, but it everyone will have to customize their plan according to how many hours they’d like to spend each day and where. I think if you use your creativity and keep your social interaction fun, you won’t need more than 2-4
February 17th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
Just curious.. why do you use a color font for your headlines that can barely be read? TERRIBLE choice for the headline color… almost gets lost in the white background! Make it so we can read it without straining to see it. Thanks.
February 19th, 2010 at 9:23 am
Thanks for the suggestion Ed. I’ve just started here, but hope to make a series of changes in the next while. Will add that to the list!
Angie