Social media inspires energetic and interactive dialogue.
It can take a static conversation and turn it into one that’s vibrant, dynamic and enthusiastic.
It also opens the door to deeper, more meaningful conversations.
Through the power of social media, business professionals can share products and services in real-time, and do it in a real and authentic way.
If you are eager to step outside the often seen one-way conversation and truly connect with your social media fans and followers, it’s time to open the lines of communication.
Below are 7 C’s to get you started! How to create 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 current marketing efforts are flourishing or failing, curiosity is a quality you must 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 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, electrifying, 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 no matter the size of your company. This makes it imperative for you to spend time conversing with your fans, followers and friends every day.
Responding, commenting and engaging proves you’re a real human being, not a systematic robot.
It also creates trust, and trust is the foundation of a healthy and beneficial 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
When was the last time you landed on a social profile or blog that wasn’t updated in months? I would imagine it did for you what it does for me.
It sheds a dim light on the company and speaks volumes about their willingness to follow through.
Give your fans and followers a reason to keep coming back. Commit to posting, tweeting and engaging on a consistent basis.
This means that you will need to know your limitations.
What can you commit to that won’t be a hardship?
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 show up on a regular basis!
5. Become Coordinated
Get your social media coordinated! This will take a mix of strategy, planning and the right tools to execute.
Maximize your social media marketing strategy by leveraging each social channel as well as your blog.
For example: If you post to your blog, coordinate your efforts to publish it across the web. From Google+, Facebook and Twitter, use social media to help spread your message.
Tools to 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 applications (Pinterest and Twitter for example – see the recipe here) and then determine how you will automate that task based on specific parameters.
- 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 will allow for quick browsing and sharing.
Know what is impacting your industry and then share how it affects your fans and followers. It keeps you in-the-know and ahead of both negative and positive changes.
Share important, timely and beneficial information to build credibility and thought leadership.
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 to 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, the quicker they will feel connected to their community.
It’s time to thank you, Rebekah, for the 7 C’s and for all the other posts.
“Never stop learning, adapting and re-energizing your strategy.”
That’s it, I am glad having found you on pinterest and I will try to “…. push beyond any self-imposed boundaries.”
Thank you Rita! I’m so glad you made your way over here!
Another great post! You make some very valid points here. I always learn new things from you. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much Jodee!
Hi Rebekah,
thank you for the very useful suggestions.
There are a few I sure could brush up on!
I appreciate that you shared those tools to become ‘coordinated’. It is always good to learn about what works for other people.
I like the ‘Tweet old post’ plugin which can be set to whatever frequency you like and to include or exclude posts.
Thank you for sharing your expertise!
Cheers,
Yorinda
Rebekah, who designs your blog for you? Love it by the way!
Thanks Matt! The designer would be me. Glad you like it! It just went through a major overhaul within the last few months and I’m really happy with it.
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!
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!!
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!!
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. 🙂
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!
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!
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!
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!!