Jul 14, 2010
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How many services or products that you enjoy have you found through a Facebook or Twitter friend? Chances are at least one because there is something powerful about seeing a recommendation from a friend or family member. You might never click on a post that says “This is the greatest thing ever!” from a stranger or an ad on a sidebar but if that comes from your best friend, you click!
So the trick to Social Media marketing isn’t convincing 10,000 people that your product or service is great, but convincing a much smaller amount to recommend your company to all their friends.
Ways to use Social Media to promote your product
1 – Communicate Concisely
No one wants to read for days to find out about your product. There is certainly a place for detail but that place is not on Social Media. You need to boil down the best points of your product to short statements or questions. Twitter forces you to a 140 character limit and that’s a pretty good rule of thumb to go by. Remember the acronym K.I.S.S. – Keep It Simple, Stupid.
2 – Educate Effectively
Why should anyone care about your product? You need to create a problem that your product solves or make sure that the problem your product solves is common enough that people need it solved. For an example of a product that solves a problem that most people don’t actually see as a problem look no farther than Comfort Wipe. Make sure you educate your potential customer on why the can’t live without your product.
3 – Bring the Funny
Show some personality in your posts. If people are going to go to the trouble to read what you write, they ought to be rewarded with a chuckle. This is admittedly very difficult for some people or for some products but if you can master it you will make your posts irresistible to reposting or retweeting. Especially if you can accomplish steps 2 and 3 at the same time.
One example I got the other day was “Tired of monkeys in your Living room? Of course not, monkeys are awesome! But this will help you get rid of stains in your carpet!” It was a little wacky and left of center, piqued my interest and made me click. And I don’t even own carpet!
4 – Make the Social Simple
This is a two step process. First, make it easy for your customers to advertise for you. You might write Facebook or Twitter friendly posts that your customers can just can just cut-and-paste. Remember that for Twitter you want to leave enough unused characters to include the “RT” tag and your customer’s name. Keep Twitter posts you want retweeted to around 120 characters for this reason.
Step two is even easier, ask them to repost it! You would be surprised how often people will repost what you have written and even recommend your product for no other reason than you asked them too. Never forget the Call to Action!
If you found any of these tips helpful, let me know at [email protected] or come visit me at www.SEOAssistant.org.