Build it and they will come in 10 easy Inbound Marketing steps
Posted by Robert Callaghan on Thu, Nov 19, 2009
The social media area in the UK is exactly like the real world, marketing is about building trust with individuals through relationships and sharing content. Social media marketing is not the black hole that everyone thinks it is. It's about building relationships and communities/networks. Listen, comment and contribute.
I and SiliconCLoud have 10 rules that will help to reach that goal.
1. Build it.
Social media networks were initially created to identify and encourage excellent content. It is true content is king. The best content rises to the top, and the worst content gets buried at the bottom. People want to read interesting things. If you don't create truly valuable and excellent content then it is very, very unlikely you'll be successful in social media. Before submitting you need to ask yourself, would I read this, is it worth five minutes of my life? If the answer is yes then you're half way there.
2. Build great relationships
Building these relationships online is the same as building relationships with your mates. You need to understand what type of content these people enjoy, and build relationships with them. Its also a give and take relationship. You have to ask for support when you need it, and provide support when your "friends" are in need. If you give it time and put in the effort as you would with your own mates then it can be fulfilling.
3. Commit the time
As I've said before to succeed on a social media site you must be prepared to spend some quality time. For example there are so many questions on Linkedin alone that could take up half the day. Be prepared to invest the time required to succeed.
4. Review before you submit
As I said at the top you need to read, comment then contribute. See what other people are submitting in the social media area you wish to engage in, before you start submitting. You should also make some friends before you jump into the fray submitting your own stuff. Once you have the following you can make relevant comments.
5. Its about putting in the miles.
If you have 100 friends on a social network, you should be prepared to vote for 100 stories before expecting 100 votes in return. People will remember how you help them and they will respond in kind.
6. Think before you type.
Have a clear thought process to what you want out of this content that you're submitting. Think before you type. People would think you were weird and self-absorbed. Instead, you should pick what content to submit, and time your submissions so they "make sense".
7. Don't spam
If you submitted everything that came into your head, you would be considered as a spammer. Your site could be banned from the social media sites that you wanted to engage with. You should really only submitt one fifth of what you write.
8. Spread the word
You need to allow people that read your content to be able to spread it to their friends and networks if they find it interesting. You'll need social media and sharing buttons, like the ones that you see on many newspaper sites. You don't want people to read it and move away you want their thoughts.
9. Convert that traffic
You want people to engage but you also want to turn them into customers etc. Therefore its about making them submit their relevant information. Use top notch calls to action in your blog posts and other content. Include verbs, funny, engaging calls to action.
10. Give them something
As said previously you need to create content that is controversial, provocative, or related to something happening in current events. Think of the economist magazine, they pride themselves on killer headlines to get people to pick up that mag. Firstly its educational and people love to learn new interesting facts and figures.
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