Social Media Marketing Tips

For Best Use of Company Time for Social Media Marketing

No one can be on social media ALL the time. But the average user now spends about 15.5 hours each month on Facebook alone (comScore.com data). Imagine the influencer count when you start to do the math. So, maximize your time.

• Use time-saving tools that make sense such as HootSuite to preschedule content, Sprinklr for distribution or Tweetdeck to engage with your kind of crowd
• Make content timely (talk about what’s happening now) and interactive (ask questions and retweet)
• Find out what people are talking about quickly by using Twitterfall and search in a radius of your location

For Crisis Communications Social Media

Responding to, or managing, a complaint before it turns into a crisis is simple. Take these quick steps:

1. Acknowledge (We’re looking into it.)
2. Apologize (We are sorry for the inconvenience and apologize.)
3. Act (Your complaint is being checked.)
4. Take it offline (Please contact me so we can work together directly.)

Too many businesses and organizations fail to acknowledge or apologize. Instead, they want to ignore or fight – never a good option in social media. Both are bad strategies for a company with a public profile. Even if your company is not wrong, a customer or potential customer may “feel” wronged. Fix it. And fix it quickly.

For Managing Internal & External Expectations with Social Media

Here’s the tipping point for social media: there is no established or recognized ROI for use of social media.

There are plenty of expensive monitoring tools that crank out graphs and charts such as Radian6, but you’ll know engagement when it happens. A lead is generated through social media, an event on social media pulls in more people than traditional advertising, etc.

Just don’t be afraid to experiment with social media and find what best suits your brand.

Social Media Executive Tip of the Day – from Motorola Chicago

Use company-branded twitter handles, but personalize profiles for your thought leaders who are responding. The brand is more important for engagement. – Belinda Hudmon, director of global marketing at Motorola Solutions (who doesn’t Tweet much herself, but whose company has multiple Twitter accounts)