Social media and the tools they inspire allow a business or brand to turn communication into interactive dialogue. With the power of social media, anyone eager to create an online presence can take static or one-way communication and turn it into a vibrant, dynamic and energetic conversation.
Social media opens the door to deeper, more meaningful conversations; allowing businesses to share the exact information, products and services consumers seek and all in real-time.
However, in order to create a meaningful conversation, you must first open the lines of communication. Below are my 7 C’s to creating social media conversations that captivate and inspire your online community!
Create Captivating Social Media Conversations
1. Be Curious
We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. ~ Walt Disney
Curiosity in marketing is no different than it is in life. Curiosity keeps us fresh, inventive and open to new and unique ideas. Never stop learning, adapting and re-energizing your strategy. Whether your social media marketing efforts are flourishing or failing, curiosity is a quality we all need to maintain.
2. Get Creative
Ever wonder why your social media efforts aren’t producing the results you were hoping for? It could be due to a lack of creativity. Just as our offline or traditional marketing can become stale over time, so can our online marketing.
Spice things up! Take a good hard look at the posts, tweets and content you are producing. What is the tone behind it? Is it really presenting you or your company in the best light? Ask yourself what the benefit is to your follower, reader or fan. If there isn’t one, it’s time to make a change.
Be innovative, be unexpected and most of all — be original. Your social success is dependent on it!
3. Stay Connected
Connecting in a real and authentic way is key to social media success whether you are a small business or large brand. This makes it imperative for you to spend time conversing with your fans, followers and friends each and every day. Responding, commenting and engaging others will show them that there is a real person behind that social media channel, not a systematic robot.
Doing this will create trust and trust is the foundation of a beneficial and sincere relationship. There is no better way to reach those you are wishing to stay in front of than getting (and staying) socially connected.
4. Remain Consistent
There’s nothing worse than visiting a Facebook page, Twitter profile or blog and realizing that the last update was months (or gasp) even years ago. It sheds a dim light on you and your company and speaks volumes about your willingness to follow through.
Consistently posting, tweeting and engaging gives consumers a reason to continue coming back to your social properties. In order to stay consistent, recognize your limitations. What can you reasonably commit to that you will enjoy doing on a daily/weekly basis?
Take baby steps and understand that you do not have to be everywhere or everything to everyone all at once. Determine where your target market spends their time and then make a point to be there consistently!
5. Become Coordinated
Coordinating your social media marketing requires a mix of strategy, planning and the right tools to execute.
If you want to maximize your social media marketing strategy, you must leverage each of your social channels, including your blog. For example: If you post to your blog, coordinate your efforts to systematically publish it across the web. From Facebook to social bookmarking sites such as Digg, use social media to help spread your message.
Tools such as these can help automate your efforts:
- Buffer - Far and away one of my favorite tools, Buffer is a smarter way to schedule the great content you find. Fill up your Buffer at one time in the day and Buffer automagically posts
- IFTTT - Connect two different applications together based on specific parameters, which you define to automate certain tasks.
- WP to Twitter — Send a Tweet from your blog or website
- Leenk.me — Auto Tweet new blog posts
- Social Media Pack – Twitter Module — Sends a Tweet when you post something new
Then keep track of how many times someone shared, tweeted or buzzed your content with Markerly.
6. Stay Current
Remaining relevant requires that you stay up-to-date on the latest trends within your industry. RSS feeds, bookmarking sites and apps such as Feedly that work with your content reader of choice allow for quick browsing and sharing.
Knowing what is impacting your industry and how it will affect your potential clients will keep you in-the-know and ahead of both negative and positive changes. Sharing important, timely and beneficial information on a consistent basis will lend credibility to you and your business and position you as a thought leader within your niche.
7. Always Capitalize
A smart social media marketer creates opportunity through meaningful conversation. They also know how and when to capitalize on that opportunity. They are quick to act and don’t spend an inordinate amount of time agonizing over the decision.
They are clear, precise and swift in their willingness to constantly evolve and push beyond any self-imposed boundaries. They keep their eyes and mind open and are willing to let go of any fear holding them back. They know that the sooner they engage and step into the conversation, the quicker they will feel connected to the very community they are working to create.
My final question for you: What one decision can you make today that allows you to capitalize on opportunity and propel your social media efforts forward?
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Twitter: b2mediallc
Great list, Rebekah! Especially love the tool tips under “Become Coordinated” – I’ll be checking some of those out.
Thank you Brooke and have fun with those tools!!
Twitter: mafokken
I really liked this point: “Ask yourself what the benefit is”. If you are just sharing something to share something, people won’t listen. But if you truly feel people can benefit from your post, tweet, etc. then people will see that.
Exactly! Honesty resonates and will shine through. I see too many people simply throwing out content for the sake of it rather than putting any thought into it. It’s such a waste of time and energy!
Twitter: RRWebDesign
Excellent list, Rebekah! I love “Ask yourself what the benefit is to your follower, reader or fan.” This is something that I have been striving to do. What may seem like a great idea to me, isn’t always what actually benefits others. Thank you for sharing your 7 C’s!
Robin Strohmaier recently posted..What Does it Take To Be Successful At Blogging?
Isn’t it weird how many relevant social media terms begin with the letter C. I actually had a Sesame Street themed post idea lined up, but this piece says it all beautifully, Rebekah. I particularly love that you started with Curious!
As I began to research words for this post, I was amazed at how many relevant C words there actually were. I could do a whole second post with another list there are so many! I love the idea of a Sesame Street post. That would be a lot of fun!
I love IFTTT! I don’t have a plugin on my site for tweeting my posts automatically, I think I will have to look into the two you suggested.
Isn’t IFTTT fabulous? I absolutely love playing around with recipes. It’s almost as fun as finding a new plugin or social tool.
I love the list! My personal favorite C is cookies… but in this case – creativity has it for me 100%. I’m with you and Sarah – IFTTT is uh-mazing!
Mmmmm….cookies! That would probably be my favorite too Carrie!!
Hi Rebekah,
I think that being consistent is the main thing we can do to capture an audience. Also, we need to be current and don’t be afraid of getting creative!
Awesome points!
Donna Merrill
Creativity is an underutilized skill most of us have. We hide behind professionalism and forget that we’re real human beings engaging with real human beings. Thanks for making that point – I love it!!
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Rebekah Radice recently posted..6 Quick and Easy Ways to Boost SEO With Pinterest
Great thoughts Rebekah. The 7 Cs neatly package themselves into the 8th one – becoming Credible. Followership and interconnectedness are deeply tied by credibility – inmy view, the cornerstone of a sustainable social relationship.
Great point Rud! Credibility is something built through those deep connections you mention and can only happen over time and with a sincere commitment to giving of yourself daily. I wholeheartedly agree with you!
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Rebekah Radice recently posted..6 Quick and Easy Ways to Boost SEO With Pinterest