Business social marketing is about building relationships with other like-minded individuals. There isn’t any magic secret that the gurus know that you don’t. It really is that simple.
The first success tip is to give worthwhile content. Make sure that the articles you’re linking to in your tweets and in the stuff you’re putting in your Facebook profile are all good quality content. Pre-read everything you send your followers and your friends to – it will save you headaches and unfollows in the future.
Try to tweet at the same time every day for the best results. Ideally it should be early afternoon or late evening seeing as though those are the times that people are most social.
Be transparent in your profile. Make sure you post pictures of your family, videos of your dog, stuff that you do professionally, and things that will help people build a relationship with you. I’ve often found that the material people react best to is personal in nature. It might be something from my past that I shared with them, a story of how I learned something, or stuff that I’m working on.
In fact one of the best ways to get people excited about what you’re doing, is to let them help. This is kind of the beta aspect of business. If you let other people in to see what you’re doing even though it’s not polished, it will still have a positive effect on that them.
Fourthly, don’t pay attention to numbers at first. Unfortunately, Google Analytics isn’t going to tell you what kind of results you’re getting from your business social marketing. That data will come in time but it isn’t immediate (unless of course you’ve hit the front page of Digg.com and you’re worried about your server staying functional!)
Lastly stay consistent. Building your business through social media is about brand recognition. It’s about choosing something and sticking with it. In fact, it’s a bit like college. You commit to a four year education so you can come out the other side with a degree.
Social media is kind of the same way. Your goal is to get new clients, land new prospects, and make more money – you just need to put in the time required.
Jason Drohn is a social media optimization expert who specializes in business social marketing and helping people build their brands online. Check out his site for more social marketing content!