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The Key to Social Media Success

by patmcgraw on February 8, 2010

According to most reports – and most of my conversations with current and prospective clients – trying to figure out how to leverage social media is a priority for 2010.

So, if you’re struggling with how to leverage social media and achieve your goals and objectives – increase quality lead flow, conversion, retention…here’s my recommendation.

Forget about social media and focus on the audience.

Who is your target audience?  What are there needs, wants, perceptions, expectations?  How do you offer them a solution? How do you solve their problem?

Then start to focus on channel and presentation!

What’s the best way to deliver that information in a unique, timely, relevant manner that provides you with the best chance of motivating them to respond in a desired fashion?

Be creative!

It’s easy to write a press release disguised as a blog post, then have the appropriate plug-ins update Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and a variety of other social media sites.

Boring.

Start involving your audience – ask some to use it and write reviews.  Do a live demo, videotape it and use the video on-line.  Let them ‘discover’ the benefits rather than you pointing them out.  (If they miss something you think is key, ask them a leading question and see if that’s an important benefit.  Just be prepared that they might not share your enthusiasm.)

Well, no need to beat this point any further – you can’t push irrelevant information through a new channel and expect miracles.

You still need to address the following basic questions:

  • Who is the target?
  • What do they need? Want? Perceive? Expect?
  • Why should they care about  you?
  • Where are these people?
  • How can you best reach them in a timely manner with relevant, accurate information so you increase your chances for motivating them to respond in a desired fashion?

Remember the basics, and then be creative.

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