You know what I’m talking about…you just came home from Target with a new pair of white socks and you couldn’t be more excited. They are perfectly soft and snug on your feet and somehow even manage to add a little pep in your step. A few washes later that pep starts to slouch, they start to stretch and even worse; fade into dingy disarray. Before you know it you’ve lost all but one pair, and you have to start the cycle all over again.
So disappointing!
But I’ve got good news, building a highly responsive community on social media is like having a new pair of socks that stays just as enjoyable as the day you brought them home. Imagine that!? Although, I can’t promise you won’t lose a disinterested oddball fan from time to time.
Instead of deteriorating socks that go missing through that secret dryer door that we all know is there; responsive communities really can continuously refresh over time. No more dingy posts and disappointing interactions, (or lack thereof) on your social media platforms.
Follow these 20 ways
to create perpetual freshness worthy of a massively responsive online community.
1. Refresh profile pic (daily/weekly) One of the reasons people become addicted to Facebook is because it’s in real time, and always changing. We can’t help but wonder “what’s going on over there?” Updating your profile pic, preferable with your face, in different settings is a fun way for followers to feel they are apart of your growth. It’s important for fans to feel they are apart of any change you go through and further fosters responsiveness.
2. Tell a behind the scene story, with visuals. Getting ready for a meeting? Setting up at a trade show? Excited about meeting with a new client? Update and share the story with your community. Sharing a variety of feelings with them allows them to feel they know you better.
See, even Taylor Swift uses behind the scenes clips to tell her dynamic story!
3. Simplify your product and focus on what makes it unique. I know the 10 pages it took you to explain your product makes perfect sense to you, but on social media; no one cares about that. If you can’t explain what you do, on your social accounts, in 1 sentence or less, we’ve got a problem. Find interesting ways to simplify your product/service. There is no rule that says there is only 1 way teach people what it is you do/offer.
4. Give something away. Speaks for itself and is always a fun way to drum up some spontaneous interactions.
5. Test your ideas on a varied crowd. Know your Target Market and create various personas. Then, talk to those people individually in blog posts, visual cues and even in your advertising copy. Gone are the days that you are talking to a “30 year old, mom of 2.” We now need to know her like we know our sister and be able to talk to customers the same as when we talk to any other individual.
6. Bring your product to customers. Why do customers have to do all the work?!?! Take your product to the masses! I don’t mean become a sneaky vacuum salesman or anything, but come up with creative ways to mingle with customers outside of your traditional four walls. Pair up with the local liquor store to have a wine tasting/social hacking night. Or, a catering company could partner up with a local band to put on a concert in the park.
7. Share a comeback story. No one has it all together! Not even me! And you know what, people like to know they aren’t the only ones who don’t have it all together either. We have all stories about how we almost gave up, but persevered and came out on top. These stories are often the catalyst to building loyal customers and should not be ignored.
Watch how Tyler Perry turned his setbacks into a comeback.
8. Use fun graphics. There are so many programs out there that have made it so easy to create fun visuals that ignite conversation. Canva is just one.
9. Take in the moment photos/video. Do you know what makes lifelong friends? Think about it, chances are your closest friends went through some pretty stuff right along with you. Siblings, battle buddies, college roommates and work mates. They were there with you day in and day out that fostered an unbreakable bond. Being in the moment with your fans, does the same thing.
10. Grateful attitude towards customers. Say thank you! And, find creative ways to do it. Social Media gives company’s’ the ability to be a little stocker-ish, so find out your fans favorite book or team, and send them something in the mail just for being loyal. Not one customer buys from you because they have to so your appreciation known!
11. Referred twitter users to vine videos. Cross reference good content that you share across platforms. Don’t be a robot, but if you have something good to share, share it!
12. Use geo-located tweets (geotag) Enabling location services allows you to selectively add location information to your Tweets which alerts potential customers in your vicinity of what you’ve got going on.
13. Gave credit where credit was due. If you’ve been inspired, encouraged, alerted or even had an idea that didn’t originate with you; Share your recognition in creative ways that are true to your branding voice.
14. Plan updates ahead of time with a posting calendar. Convince and Convert has a great article that talks about the importance of “visualizing how your content is distributed throughout the year.” It helps creates the consistency needed for fans to take your seriously. Download their free template and get started, today!
Amy Schmittauer talks about the importance of creating and sticking to a content calendar.
15. Became a community fixture; without interrupting. No one wants to be interrupted while they are busy enjoying life. But, if your product/service really will enhance life or even make it just a little bit better, it’s important to find ways to tell your story to fans in a way that welcomes your presence.
16. Understand your community impact. Do you know how you fit into your community? Do you know your place in the hierarchy of your offering? It’s important to understand the where/when/why/how your community expects to interact with you.
17. Have fun; be yourself! Enough said!
18. Make an unexpected partnership. I touched on this in tip #6, but the Social Media Examiner recently shared this interview, where Andrew Davis discusses lots of great partnership ideas!
Take a cue from Gary Barlow and learn to create not just any partnership, but an entertaining one! (psssstt…fans love to be entertained online!)
19. Be confident and knowledgeable in what you post. Please, only keep to the topics you know you can back factually.
20. Do what makes you happy, without the pressure to sell. I saved this one for last because chances are you skipped all the way to the bottom of this list. If you follow any of these tips, I would say this is the most important! When you address your social accounts with the urgency to sell something that quickest way to suck the life out of your online presence. Run your business as if you are philanthropist and this is your hobby. Creativity will come to you in whole new ways that actually resonate value and interest within your community.
It’s important to understand,
none of these tips are quick fixes for anything! Social Media is a long term play and is a continuous integration tool for your brands overall voice.
