Social Business is an ever evolving arena, and the main concern I've been hearing is about VALUE!
This week I've been asked a great question that I really wanted to address...
How do I add value to my Social Media?
When I heard this... I honestly thought in my head "finally clients are getting it"! Social business is about adding value to the customer experience, and less about the ROI & Sales. Although I do believe that in every category there can be success with continued advancement of the "Facebook & Twitter advertising platforms". Once we can purchase Cost per Acquisition advertising, I believe it will increase the shift of revenue to social advertising, as we've seen with our clients!
The major question is .... How do I add value to my social media community? My answer is in the following three ways:
1. Embrace your communities. The first thing that I see more social marketers missing, is that genuine connection to the community. Make it a goal to ask 1-3 questions weekly, focused on making your community better, asking for their insights, and allowing them to be a part of the community that's being created. Businesses can be a little corporate on social, which feels like you're connecting to an advertising campaign, versus a real person, which feels more authentic. Every business is a person; we're people doing business with people, and social business strategies should be embraced the same way.
2. Develop a series of giving campaigns. Social networks are the best way to connect to communities of hundreds to millions of fans/followers quickly and easily, but that doesn't mean you can't give back to them. I started doing this in my weekly life, giving to a different charity to get my communities to support the cause and give using social engagement. The power of giving is a powerful attribute to social networking that most brands don't focus their efforts on, and it's truly unfortunate. But that doesn't mean that you can't make a change... try this next week to give something away to your audience for no cost, to get them engaged with you!
3. Listen to your communities. This is something I've seen as an area most don't do enough, from Fortune 500 companies, celebrities, to local businesses. We see it all the time, brands getting 100-1,000's of comments on an engaging post and not spending any time responding. I definitely agree that great social content is vital, but the value in my opinion with social media and business is that the community builds trust daily. Take the time to respond to comments, both good & bad, talk to those engaging with your business and support the social community. Don't drop the ball by not responding. Social is not about forcing people to do anything, it's all on the communities time. Be there to listen and respond.
Social business has so many facets, but I would start with a strategy to add value to your community on a weekly basis. It's a tried method that leads to off-line engagement and sales. I believe in the customer experience, and I know that this strategy will take your social media to the next level!
Photo Credit: Realtime Outsource, Dukeo, We are Social, Mashable, John Sadowsky