It was only within the past half decade that brands began using Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram extensively as a method of self-promotion. And really, the only reason they do it better than you think you can is the amount of money poured into advertising. On a smaller scale, you, too, can promote you and your brand on social networks. With a lot of time and patience, here are our tips on how to become Internet-famous.
Maintain brand consistency
Ever run into people who say they will never be on Facebook, but Twitter is okay in their book? It’s fans like these that force you to be available on all forms of social media so the crowd can select their method(s) of following. The important thing to remember is, even though each social network boasts a different way of sharing and interacting, you have to maintain brand consistency. Make sure the look and name stays the same across networks so they’re recognizable, and post similar links throughout each network. You don’t want to feel like you’ve skimping out on the Facebook fans but engaging with more of your Instagram followers. Love all equally.
Always engage
One of the major reasons Facebook and Twitter became so popular as a form of outreach for fans is the ability for them to interact with brands directly. It’s cool to know you can tweet JetBlue and someone is likely to get back and answer your questions and concerns, in 140 characters or less.
While you may not attract a ton of questions off the bat, sometimes it is your job to pose questions yourself. Even something as simple as asking what your followers are eating for lunch and retweeting the best answers will make fans feel like they’re being engaged and valued for their responses. If you’re on Tumblr, enable the Ask function so fans can send direct queries for you to respond to other inquiring minds.
Remember: Just don’t go trigger happy retweeting every response you get or your followers will think they’re being spammed. You can always just Favorite or Like a response. Don’t forget to thank a fan when they reach out to you, whether it’s criticism or praise.
Be likeable
The worst thing about advertisements and promotions is when you know the gimmick is only about advertising and promoting. In between posts about the latest blog you published or product you’re offering, discuss current events relevant to you with your followers. Not only will this be helpful to people interested in what you have to say, it will help you become an information source for new people who share your interests.
Proofread your posts and make sure they look professional and link to the right pages. You don’t want to come off like an amateur by misspelling a word and having to retweet a post, or linking your fans to a LOLcat picture when you meant to send them to an interesting story you found off Reddit. A funny mistake might generate some buzz, but not the kind you want.
Use hashtags to your advantage
Hashtags are a form of social discovery for Netizens, so you want to make yourself as visible as possible by using relevant hashtags, especially during a current event. You can also use the hashtag as a way to brand yourself, such as the New York City restaurant Comodo has by asking patrons to post Instagram food pictures with the hashtag #ComodoMenu. Either use hashtag as a way to get on the bandwagon with news and trends and get recognized, or create one and get people talking about particular topics. You can host a live discussion with a certain hashtag, say, #DTDebates for us, and make it a weekly thing so fans always know to come back. And that’s the last thing…
Keep them hooked
None of this social media riff-raff would mean a thing if you can’t keep the fans you received. If people are following you because you’re a comedian, you best deliver a punchline every chance you get. If you’re a beauty blogger, your videos, advice columns, photos, and tutorials should be fresh and new – and tend to what your audience is requesting. Whatever it is you want your fans to know you for, keep them coming back by posting quality content to make them glad to have found you on the Web in the first place. After that, it’s a matter of word of mouth and Web virality before you’re a celebrity – at least on the Internet.
I keep trying, but I just can’t engage in Twitter, the 140 character limit is too short for me. I appreciate it as a great tool, but it just doesn’t fit my style (although I do read tweets).
Try not talking too much. 140 characters is more than enough for most people to get out what they want to say, and no one wants to read more than 140 characters anyways.
I might add that you should prepare to be held accountable/defend your stance if you intend to dance on the global social network stage, particularly if you tend to work in a space where folks hold strong opinions and enjoy sharing them…a lot.
Social media, and by extension social sites like Twitter and Facebook, have become such a powerful tool for people to interact with one another and acquire information relevant to their lives. I wonder though what negatives, if any, exist with the increasing push from brands, people, etc into the social realm.
Well, celebrities get into trouble all the time saying things on Twitter that they shouldn’t because they were not thinking first. It;s like drunk texting, but using Twitter instead.
Also, there is a ton of spam on Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook etc. People will start to leave Twitter if it gets any worse.
The spamming/fake profiles just drive me insane. When I see something was retweeted by the same 20 accounts that are clearly illegitimate profiles, it seriously discourages me from using Twitter as a communication tool.
They say that something like 15%+ of the users on Twitter are fake. That number sounds high to me, but I am starting to believe it.
http://www.webpronews.com/over-27-of-the-top-10-twitter-accounts-followers-are-fake-2012-08
There have been many instances of twitter bans on athletes by coaches and leagues. Twitter has become the perfect outlet for dumb people to make mistakes and get themsleves in trouble. It’s only 140 characters right what could go wrong.
Having only recently started freelancing, I’m amazed at how useful Twitter is for a business. I had a personal account for 3 years with about 30 followers and never really ‘got’ it, but since I’ve had a specific promotional and networking use it’s really opened my eyes to it. A great way to get social with your business.
Great tips. The key point that people or brands have to remember is that social media facilitates the process but you still have to put in the time to engage with others on the social web. One of my favourite methods of engaging is through commenting on blogs and sites. This helps build relationship and in cases where conversations do start it becomes a terrific place to gain valuable knowledge. One tool I would recommend for tracking and managing your social conversations is engagio (http://www.engag.io). I am a bit biased but it is a great productivity tool and is also free to use!
What value does Engagio add above other aggregators? Engagement is the toughest part. I often ignore my Twitter feed.