On a first date, what's a surefire way to flatter, engage, and convey interest in your new flame?
Tried and true wisdom says, by asking questions, listening more than speaking, and generally keeping focused on them, rather than yourself
From dating to professional networking, the same advice holds true: don't just self-promote and dominate the conversation with tidbits about you-make people feel special by treating them like they're genuinely fascinating to you.
It's a pro-tip so old and popular it almost qualifies as a cliché-or would if it weren't so sound. But how much does it inform your behavior on social media?
People First
The power of social media cannot be ignored, but that translates into many businesses setting up accounts because, well, they have to. Then, with no particular plan in mind to make use of these accounts, they default to saying, "Well, we have these profiles, we might as well put them to use to spread our message and content."
For all the value such an approach actually provides, they might as well not.
Consider, instead, the example of the old corner store:
Before big-box supermarkets took over, every town had a general store providing basic goods. The owner could be counted on to know everyone, and it was as much in the owner's interest to stay on good terms with all the customers in town as it was in theirs to reciprocate. Marketing was less important than good social relationships, casual engagement, and friendly interaction.
Even today, establishing and maintaining good customer relationships is driven by service and human values, not by effective advertising campaigns.
Personal Touches
So if social media isn't just another outlet for marketing and content promotion, how do you use it? The answer is less high-tech than the platforms it utilizes.
People buy products and services, but they respond to humanity. Rutgers Business Professor Mark Burgess highlights the cross purposes so often at play in social media. In his TED Talk, he pointed out that while roughly 90% of consumers tend to distrust advertising, nearly 80% put great stock in word-of-mouth. In a digital age, social media is where people go for such personal recommendations, both to send and receive.
While interaction - including business transactions and the associated service experiences - have moved online to a great extent, that doesn't eliminate the opportunity to make customer service a more memorable, positive experience.
Done well, your service becomes your marketing: impress people enough with your simple human touches, and your reputation has a stronger foundation. Everyone claims to put service as a top priority - it's an easy message to promote. But real service isn't a message, it's a deliberate act. And its power to wind up in a referral is much higher than even the catchiest slogan.
Human Qualities
Your voice on social media shouldn't be the same as a billboard. Like the old general store manager, people appreciate being remembered, respected, and appreciated. Social networks are actually a great platform for doing just that.
Adding a few notes (birthdays, non-business conversations, personal details) to your CRM can turn into ways to reach out on a personal level and contact customers (or potential customers) on social media. Wish them congratulations. For goodness' sake, answer their questions. Share resources that you don't own. Be casual, personable, and above all, human. Show that you see people as people - and that you are one too.
The rules for great social engagement are the same as for great content: provide value to your audience, and don't use it exclusively for advertising and self-promotion. Identifying and respecting your customers, clients, and general audience is key to giving them online content they will find interesting and useful.
Maybe on occasion, your own promotions or special announcements indeed cross-over with what your audience cares about, but that ought to be more the exception than the rule when it comes to what you are creating and sharing online.
But if you are exclusively sharing your own content (or engaging with people who shared your content on their own), you aren't really bringing any value to your social network; you are nakedly trying to leverage it for marketing purposes. No one really appreciates that, even if they do like your content.
See or Be Seen
Online presence is treated too often as just another medium for visibility. But people are inundated on and offline with competing content, messages, and blaring advertisements. Getting social media right means not making yourself stand out and be seen; it means letting people know that you see and hear them.
Customers or not, creating value online happens not just with new content, but by taking an interest in the people in your audience and network. The power of their response to being acknowledged and appreciated goes much further than a viral ad, and emphasizes "social" over "media."