by, Lesa Seibert, President, Xstreme Media
Social media and social networking sites are the Web's hottest trends. What is changing, is how social networks are being used by businesses and how social media is affecting branding and consumer interaction. The web has opened up a pipeline to consumers and any size business can take advantage of this opportunity. May businesses have seed wild success utilizing social media and others have failed miserably. Now is the time to get involved, if you're not already. If you are already involved, now is the time to build a social media strategy.
In our Social Media Success article last Friday, we looked at how to choose your weapon wisely. You don't have to be on all platforms to be successful. Find the one where your customers are and use that.
This week, we are going to look at how to listen and learn what your potential customers want. You need to
Start by finding like-minded people on your chosen network(s) (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) and become their friend or follow their account. Spend time reading their updates and seeing what seems to interest their audience - Facebook posts with numerous comments or Twitter retweets is a good indication.
One of the easiest ways to find hot topics is by using the search in your chosen platform. Most social platforms have a robust search function where you can find most anything. On Facebook, search for any topic and you will see a list of Groups and Pages (join them); but you can also see results by posts from other Facebook members, events, people and more. This is where you can listen in on the conversation. On Twitter, search for topics with keywords and by using hashtags (placing '#' before a keyword or phrase).
Once you have determined what is being discussed on your chosen network, you can then plan and execute a strategy for your social media.
Next week we will look at how to define your objective.
Social media and social networking sites are the Web's hottest trends. What is changing, is how social networks are being used by businesses and how social media is affecting branding and consumer interaction. The web has opened up a pipeline to consumers and any size business can take advantage of this opportunity. May businesses have seed wild success utilizing social media and others have failed miserably. Now is the time to get involved, if you're not already. If you are already involved, now is the time to build a social media strategy.
In our Social Media Success article last Friday, we looked at how to choose your weapon wisely. You don't have to be on all platforms to be successful. Find the one where your customers are and use that.
This week, we are going to look at how to listen and learn what your potential customers want. You need to
Listen First and Act Later
You first have to realize that social media is an environment is controlled by consumers. Successful businesses and brands appeal to what consumers want, not what they think consumers want. The only way to learn this and to be sure you are sending the right message is to listen to the conversation.Start by finding like-minded people on your chosen network(s) (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) and become their friend or follow their account. Spend time reading their updates and seeing what seems to interest their audience - Facebook posts with numerous comments or Twitter retweets is a good indication.
One of the easiest ways to find hot topics is by using the search in your chosen platform. Most social platforms have a robust search function where you can find most anything. On Facebook, search for any topic and you will see a list of Groups and Pages (join them); but you can also see results by posts from other Facebook members, events, people and more. This is where you can listen in on the conversation. On Twitter, search for topics with keywords and by using hashtags (placing '#' before a keyword or phrase).
Once you have determined what is being discussed on your chosen network, you can then plan and execute a strategy for your social media.
Next week we will look at how to define your objective.
