While digital marketing and the prevalence of social media has given marketers and businesses an infinite larger reach, we’re in danger of shooting ourselves in the foot.
How?
Marketers are getting lazy in their online marketing habits —- when marketers get lazy, people start ignoring what businesses have to say —- when people ignore businesses, they ignore the announcements they might actually want to hear —- when people miss out on announcements they should hear, marketers talk even louder…
And then the world goes deaf and blind.
Example:
– Friends/Organizations/Businesses send you event invitations via Facebook and the event is in-person, twenty states away.
– Since it doesn’t apply to you, you’ll ignore it. Then you ignore the other dozen event requests in your queue.
– When was the last time you looked to see if there was something you might be interested in going to?
The social networking world boomed to life so quickly, that most marketers and businesses simply reacted. We never stopped to think about the truly best “best practices.”
Well, let’s stop and think now.
1. Remember social networking is one large party. Follow the rules of social etiquette the same way you would at a professional networking gathering.
2. No one likes a phony. Be genuine.
3. Treat people the same way you’d want to be treated. (Do you want your newsfeed spammed with the same post over and over? I didn’t think so.)
4. Target your posts by interest/region/etc. The more thought and time you put into the front end of marketing, the greater return you’ll have.
5. Marketing doesn’t start and end online. Get out from behind the computer or retail desk and network at local events.
Marketing your business is hard. It takes persistence and it never really gets easier. You’ll still have to adapt and seek out new audiences and networks. Just don’t move so fast that you ruin your chances of being heard.