To some people, using social media is quite literally a religion.
They rely on social networking for myriad of things, most notably promoting their brands to current and potential customers.
So, are you one of those brands that will literally pray that consumers will find out about your products or services by tapping into some of the most popular social media sites?
In the event you are, you certainly are not alone.
Social Networking Answering the Call
In order for social media to truly work for your brand (be it a company, organization, nonprofit etc.), it is imperative that you do the following:
- Make sure content is king – No one (at least not many consumers) will be interested in whatever you are offering if the content on your website is lackluster. Face it; content that is not authoritative, low on the information scale, and stale to say the least, stands a good chance of being overlooked. As a result, when you post such content on social sites, don’t expect to get a ton of hits. If anything, you will simply be ignored for the most part. Your marketing content needs to separate your brand from the others, be they businesses, organizations, churches etc. When your content stands out for all the right reasons, social media is the place to promote it;
- Don’t become stagnant – One of the worst things any brand can do is become stagnant, including on social media. In order to successfully bring change to your church or whatever you are selling, always be looking to push the envelope. On social media, this can be done by using your social sites for more than the just the casual posting. Be sure to offer things like contests on Facebook or Instagram (great for photo contests), not to mention videos on sites such as YouTube. For churches specifically, YouTube is a great social venue for you to show-off your house of sanctuary. You can include the history of the church, what it offers (Sunday school, church, youth and adult groups etc.), who some of the prominent members are and more. Always keep thinking of how you can show your business or organization etc. evolving. When you do that, you offer the public a brand that should catch their attention;
- Promote the positive – Social media has many benefits, one of which is putting one’s brand in the most positive light possible. That said there is also a “dark side” to social media, one that has been exploited way too many times. What you don’t want to do is fall into that darkness and potentially damage your brand. Keep in mind that you are better perceived when you tout the positive. That means avoiding any negative back-and-forth social exchanges with consumers, church members etc. Let them stand out as the “bad guy” and not you or your brand. It is also good to come across as a brand that is willing to help people. For example, if you own a business, how can your products or services better the lives of many people? You can share such instances on social media, giving people more reason to want to do business with you. If you oversee a church, using social media to help guide individuals and/or families that are going through a rough time is also one way to put your brand in a positive light. If people know they can turn to you in their time of need, they’re more likely to recommend you and your brand to others;
- Engage with others – Finally, what good is social media to your brand if all you do is share, tweet, pin etc. only about you? You must engage others on social networking sites, especially when you have common interests to discuss. In doing so, you not only become part of the social crowd, but you invite more traffic back to your site. Face it; promoting your brand in many ways is about how much traffic you can get back to your website and your social media sites. By being part of the conversation, you stand a much better chance of doing just that, something that any brand will gladly take.
Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com
