Social Marketing Gets Better With Age
by Bill Nolan
Contrary to popular belief, there really are no mystical social media posts that will turn a company into a powerhouse overnight. As I’ve said before, regular quality posts, interacting with the right audience, cross marketing with other outlets and consistency with brand presence helps get returns. Most importantly, it takes time. Online marketing need some time to age.
Don’t be fooled, because the audience won’t be, constant auto and robotic posts coming from scheduling and cloning tools gives the impression that a business is just going through the motions. These tools leave obvious marks. In the unlikely event that someone would engage with these types of posts, the company is probably nowhere to be found. Businesses who take part in these types of activities all of the time usually never login to their accounts. They may not even remember the logins. The result, you ask? That business’s followers don’t feel appreciated or think anyone is really there. The last time I checked, that’s not good for business.
Some businesses think all of the “brouhaha” above is okay. They are planning to spend hundreds to thousands of dollars yearly purchasing followers anyway. And maybe they have Adwords on tap. They feel this will get the job done, right? Sorry, but that money isn’t going to convert those new followers into clients or your holy grail of Adwords into sales. One things for sure, it funds some of the slave wage farms in third world countries that churn out ghost accounts like there’s no tomorrow. Try getting some engagement from those eggs on Twitter. Most of those accounts end up getting deleted anyway and the followers vanish into thin air just like the money. But wait… there’s Adwords too. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe Adwords work. Just like social media, they take quality* investments, knowing the audience, cross marketing with other outlets, finding the right fit for brand consistency and time. It’s not about just going out and buying every word variation under the sun. *Please note, we mentioned quality and not quantity.
Finding what works and pairs well with a business’s online marketing won’t happen overnight. It starts with understanding that social marketing takes time, and once you achieve success, you gotta keep working for it. It’s a long term investment and the shortcuts seem good, but ask yourself when have shortcuts really worked?
Want to experience some goodness for your business now?
• Choose platforms that connect your business with the right audience and potential clients.
• Build a following organically, first and foremost, making sure to interact with those showing interest.
• Don’t make it all about you.
• Don’t forget to be social… like, share, and comment on other posts and business pages as well.
• Stay active with intelligent, educational, and entertaining posts that cross market with other platforms.
• When your online business presence is solid, start planning THOUGHT OUT post promotions and ads.
• A good “vintner,” aka social manager, can help a great deal too.
These tips are meant to help strengthen a brand across all of the platforms. Ask yourself, when you created your business did you just throw it together? No. You planned, invested wisely and continue to work at it to this day. You didn’t just pay people to become customers, right? So don’t be surprised when I say it takes time to get quality followers, customers and returns through social marketing. It also takes time, research, the right help and plenty of patience to grow and sustain a business as well. If your business needs help, don’t forget about that “vintner,” they have a good taste for this kind of marketing.