A Social Media Strategy That Works

John Marino

Founder

RSP Marketing

jmarino@rspmarketing.com

rspmarketing.com

Topic: Marketing/ Communications

When I talk to business owners and marketing managers over the last month they know that their company and brand needs to be on Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare.  We all see the cell phone ads promoting the social networking sites, hear about it on the news and see our friends, family members and co-workers typing away.  The biggest question I hear when sitting down with someone is “How do I leverage social media to increase sales?”

Before I answer that question a person needs to understand who is on the social networking sites and how they use them.  There are approximately 500 million people using Facebook and 15-20 million people using Twitter.  There are over a million check-ins on Foursquare which is not bad for a company just over a year old.  People that use Facebook want to stay connected and do so by posting photos, links to their favorite sites and articles, upload videos, comment on others walls.  People use their news feed in Facebook as a source of knowledge of where to eat, travel, find out about events and keep tabs on others they know. 

Twitter is a social networking site that allows people to type a message no longer than 140 characters that can be read by anyone.  People follow others that they want information from.  Celebrities and Fortune 500 brands use it to communicate with their base.  Media personalities and marketing companies use Twitter to keep tabs on each other.  The main goal for companies using Twitter is to drive website traffic to a Facebook Fan page or company website. 

Foursquare is a great smartphone app that plays off of our childhood through rewards.  When people “check-in” to a place they receive recognition.  The more times a person checks-in they can become the mayor of that location.  Now retail locations are rewarding those that are the Mayor with special incentives.  When a person is checking-in they are giving a peer recommendation to their network on Facebook and Twitter.  This form of word-of-mouth advertising helps businesses stay in front of their customers and promotes a brand virally. 

Now that you may understand what they main social networking sites do, the question still remains.  People follow brands that engage them.  If a person walks into their store they are greeted.  The same experience should happen to those who Like you on Facebook.  I spoke with a recent business owner who has over 8,000 people on their Facebook Fan page.  I told him that there are 8,000 people that want  you to talk to them.  Say hi, tell them about your next food special.  Better yet, promote a special offer that can only be found on Facebook.  That way you can track the success.

There are many ways to leverage social media for financial success.  The most important lesson is to engage.  Talk to people, post pictures and videos and reward those who are your most loyal.  For more tips please follow us on Twitter @rspmarketing or email me questions at jmarino@rspmarketing.com.