When I first got into the social media game, I heard about a 'cowboy' social media 'expert' who would turn away potential clients because they didn't have the type of businesses that consumers would generally want to 'follow' on a social media platform like Facebook or Twitter.
Maybe it was his ego, or maybe he was a poor marketer and knew he couldn't deliver for them (It was probably both).
He turned away plumbers, physiotherapists, builders, and sparkies because they didn't have 'magnetic' brands.
A magnetic brand is a brand that people want to be associated with.
Nike.
Red Bull.
Sony.
Social media is easy for those guys, right? Everyone 'likes' sports, energy drinks and music labels.
So, how were plumbers, physiotherapists, builders, and sparkies going to compete?
Building their profiles was going to be hard. Who would possibly ever want to follow a plumber? What benefit would somebody receive from following a plumber?
A few years back, I logged onto Facebook one day and decided to follow a major credit card's small business page.
Their concept hit me like a bolt of lightning.
This brand didn't just speak about credit cards. They shared business tips, business advice and other material revolving 'small business success'.
They had managed to turn a boring concept (credit card marketing) into something interesting and relevant to their target market.
They were providing information about:
- Small business management
- Social media tips
- Other tips and 'hacks' suitable for small business owners.
Brilliant. They were providing valuable, actionable information to their followers whilst simultaneously building strong relationships with them.
What are the learnings here?
As a business owner, you have to offer something out of the ordinary to entice consumers to join your social community.
You need a value proposition that will create curiosity about the benefits that can be obtained by following YOUR social profiles. You need to provide a broad and wholesome reason to follow your social profiles.
This needs to be backed up with a succinct, marketable, written promise. 'Follow Us On Facebook' is a dead-end statement, as everyone is boringly murmuring it - you need to offer something enticing to persuade potential followers to tap that shiny 'Like' or 'Follow' button.
You need to promote the benefit of WHY they should follow you on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram or any other social channel. You need to provide an offer that they can't refuse.
Try and emulate the credit card company's strategy: work out what your target market really wants (even if it's not directly related to your offering), and provide value in those areas as much as you feasibly can.
Photo Credit: Branding Big and Small/shutterstock