What do social media marketing and dating have in common? Turns out a lot more than you might think.
Social Media provides a completely unique kind of relationship marketing that puts emphasis on providing value to your customer, versus telling them to purchase your product or service. Many people still fail to recognize this concept and attempt to use social platforms like Facebook and Twitter as push marketing channels- just another way to get their sales message in front of an audience. These marketers then watch their reach and engagement plummet and end up writing off social media as a complete waste of time.
If it’s not working- perhaps YOU’RE the problem.
It’s a hard pill to swallow. The whole “It’s not you, it’s me” thing. However, just like any real relationship, it only works if both parties are getting something out of it. For the sake of this scenario imagine each of your Facebook fans as your significant other. In order to keep them happy and create a mutually positive relationship, a few basic “dating” rules apply:
Quality time and lots of attention are required
An occasional gift to show them how much you care never hurts
There are times when you have to bite your tongue
They should be the first to know of something new and exciting happening in your life
Heartfelt apologies are necessary when a mistake has been made
Easy enough right? Well if that’s the case, why do many social media marketers fail over and over again? Inspired by the popular rom-com “How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days”, here’s a list of common mistakes made by social marketers that cause their fans to flee in such a short time.
1) Over-Selling
Yes your fans want to hear about your products or services. No, they do not want to hear about it every single day. Sorry, it doesn’t matter how AWESOME your new line of vacuum cleaners are- your fans will get bored if that’s all you talk about. Could you imagine having a conversation with someone who only talks about one thing? Yeah…that kind of relationship is doomed to failure.
2) Posting Too Often
Goodness gracious, give your fans some space would ya? Believe it or not they’re using social media to interact with their friends too, and posting more than 3 times a day clogs up their NewsFeed with all your posts. You should be a beneficial and valuable part of their day, not a nuisance.
3) Not Posting Enough
On the flip side, they DO want to hear from you daily. You want them to look forward to your interactions and expect these interactions to happen often. They’re important to you right? So don’t talk to them once a week and expect that to be enough.
4) Not Interacting With Them
A fan asks you a question, writes a positive comment, shares a photo of them using your product or visiting your venue, brings up a valid concern- and you ignore them. Basically, your relationship is completely one-sided. Does this really require any further explanation?
5) Always Posting Links To Other Sites or Content
Of course there’s a lot of great material on the web, but don’t make that something you always talk about. Be original and show some creativity! Your fans established a relationship with you because they want to hear something unique that provides value to them. If they can get that same feeling or information elsewhere, then why follow you?
6) Being Too Needy
Your fans should comment, like and share your posts because they’re worth it. Not because you’re begging them to do so. An occasional “like bait” post is fine but if you’re always asking your fans to interact with you there’s a problem. Guilt tripping or forcing someone to do something you want does not a healthy relationship make.
So there you have it- all the best social media relationship advice I can give you. Now it’s up to you to apply these tips to your social strategy and establish some positive relationships with your Facebook fans.