The Secret to Making Social Media 'Click' For You

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If you’re like me, it took a while for social media to even register as relevant in your mind. But now that you accept it as a relevant tool- at least in theory- you’re having trouble getting it to work for you. That’s ok, no one starts out a pro!

HERE’S THE SECRET.......

The thing that made it click for me was when I finally understood the ‘connectivity’ of it all. I had thought, “Ok, I have a Facebook and now I have a twitter. I’ll try not to ignore LinkedIn, and all those other sites ad infinitum.” I had thought, “they are all pretty much the same thing, I’ll just be on multiple networks because that’s what you’re supposed to do.”

EERRRR! WRONG!

I was looking at each platform like a bland space that should be filled with the same information & status updates as my Facebook page. This made social networking SO boring and on top of that, I wasn’t having any kind of success. Then one day everything I’d been reading on Mashable, Social Media Examiner, and other social media marketing blogs suddenly clicked!
Here’s what it took me a long time to realize:

Every platform has a different audience
You don’t have to be on ALL of them and
Even though they have different audiences, they all compliment each other and should be pointing back to your website, because that is your hub.

Sure it matters what you say, quality content most definitely matters, but you can be Socrates spouting the wisest shiz this side of B.C. and if it reaches no one, you’re like a tree falling in the woods with no one to hear.

Social media isn’t just what you say or how many ‘fans’ you have, at the end of the day it’s a way of thinking.

When you create content, consider how it can be presented across multiple platforms.
Make sure everything comes back to your website.

And if you're really good, your website will point to your other online marketing networks, in the the form of social media icons, links, etc...It's not complicated, you're just giving viewer the opportunity to engage in anyway that's convenient for them.

Example:

Here’s a blog post. > I put it on my website.

On my blog I have several social media plugins so readers can engage me on networking sites.(Not only to follow or fan me, but maybe they’ll tweet or mention my article on their next status!)
Wait, I also am on social networking sites > so I share a link to my blog post on all my networks. (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, they all have a status with a link that points right back to my blog page on my website)
I try to create discussion around my post. (Maybe by directly asking readers a question at the end of my blog and giving them the opportunity to post comments below. But I also get discussion about it going on my social networks.)
Maybe I make a funny video to answer people’s questions or address comments.
Oh, and on my website there is a Twitter Feed of everything I post as well as any time someone mentions me it shows up on my home page!
There are a million things you can do.

Try to implement this way of thinking and not only will social media start to click for you, but so will your customers.

Comments

+2 # Jay Scott Brown 2012-04-16 19:22

Makes sense but sounds like work to me.

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0 # Lani 2012-04-17 08:43

It may feel like work at first but once you get in the habit of thinking "where else can I get this word out? How can I get THE MOST out of this post?" it becomes second nature. :)

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