Social media campaigns need to be different from advertising campaigns which push products. Unfortunately the more you try to sell, the less you sell. The situation is analogous to the rest of life, where focusing on contribution leads to more success than chasing personal gain. Modern consumers are wary of pitches and commercials. People love to buy (from people they know, like, and trust), but they do not like to be sold. Give first, and they will want to buy from you. If you learn to sincerely enjoy helping others get what they want, (paraphrasing Zig Zigler) they will enjoy helping you get what you want.

On the Converge Technologies blog, Taha Hameedi wrote a post  that explains how to approach a social media campaign:

Social media is ultimately about relationships. It should be viewed as a two-way street. As a brand, you aren’t there to promote a product, you are there to communicate and relate. If you approach social media with sales as your end goal, your audience will notice and, most likely, you will be ignored.

On the other hand, if you offer your audience something of value, and your message is genuine, aka you aren’t faking it, consumers are inclined to listen. Offer users engaging content, helpful information, streamlined customer service, or incentives like discounts and free gifts consistently, and you have the makings of a healthy long-term relationship with a brand ambassador willing to sing your praises to the world.

Tags: Business Relationships, Networking, Relationships, Social Media, Trust

This entry was posted on July 19, 2010 at 8:01 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in Business Relationships Personal Alliances by Buddy Hodges 1 Comment