If you’ve been doing a lot of reading on social media trends and have decided that being successful on social media this year has the likelihood of world peace, take a breath. It’s really not that bad.
Yes, social media changes every day. And yes, between apps, algorithms and ads, some days it feels like things have gotten overly complex. But the thing that many of these articles and gurus seem to forget, is that at its core, social media is about connecting and forming relationships. If you can focus on that and remember your social media basics, you’re halfway home.
Remember what was so exciting about social media
Though it’s hard to find something written these days on social media that’s not yammering away about how Facebook pushes brands out of the newsfeed, big data, or a new innovative ad; ultimately that’s not what social media is all about.
Think back a few years, let’s say 2008 when social media was hitting the mainstream and brands were seeing the potential. At that point it wasn’t all about going viral. The most exciting thing to brands is that they could reach their customers directly through an unfiltered channel.
For the first time brands had direct access to have conversations with their clients and prospects.
When companies had a big announcement they didn’t have to beg the media to pick the story up, then cross their fingers the whole message would go out. With social media they could say exactly what they wanted to say. What’s more is they could hear the response!
Companies that took the time to listen found amazing opportunities to connect with their customers. Some brands were able to take advantage of people that loved their brand to spread the word for them.
Other brands worked hard to salvage customer relationships and made headlines for going the extra mile, gaining huge amounts of customer loyalty along the way.
Still other brands figured out that social media was a goldmine of information that could help them successfully launch new products and services.
Where brands went wrong
While there were a bunch of companies that saw the opportunities and jumped in quickly to leverage them, there were just as many companies that didn’t quite get it. What resulted was a whole lot of brand pages that simply pushed information out without worrying about developing any kind of relationships.
What followed was an endless array of apps meant to make it easier for brands to be “successful” at social media, without ever having to get their hands dirty by actually talking to people.
Where do you go from here?
Think about what you really want to achieve with your social media presence and let that guide you.
If you’re all about the numbers, there are endless advertising choices. Just be prepared to open your wallet.
If client service is more your target, perhaps you’ll be less concerned with amplification, but want to ensure information is ready and waiting for your clients when they come looking. You’ll also want to make it a priority to respond to each and every comment. Quickly.
If relationships are your goal, have a little fun. You don’t have to talk about yourself all the time (and truthfully you shouldn’t be talking about your products in more than 20% of your posts). So toss out some trivia, jump into the trends, and maybe even have some fun with memes.
Putting a little promotion behind your posts can definitely help your exposure, but all the advertising in the world won’t help if you don’t remember that social media is ultimately not about you. It’s about your community and what matters to them. Never forget your social media basics.