I work in an office full of acronyms and buzz words and sometimes find myself doing the knowing head nod and then searching Google to figure out what the hell so and so was talking about. We rattle off SEO, PPC, KPI’s and things like “scent” and “conversion” all day long. A popular buzz word that seems to be popping up everywhere lately is “engagement”. So, we don’t do wedding planning (though one of our own is newly engaged); the term here applies to Social Networking. How do we engage our community, customers, future customers, potential candidates, etc. in our brand?
A great place to start is to have a conversation. That might seem overly simplistic, but it’s just like real life. We all much prefer a two-sided conversation where both parties are actively involved. We all have that friend who makes every conversation all about them, right? You know the one…they invite you out to catch up and then spend 2.5 hours telling you every detail of their lives and somehow forget to acknowledge that you have gotten married, had a baby or got a new job in the last 6 months. Don’t let your tweets and status updates become that friend.
Many social media campaigns fail because the reader feels like they are being sold and they aren’t necessarily there to buy right now. Add value by providing information that is both useful and interesting to your readers. If your target demographic is new moms, share information that will help them during this exciting and often scary time in their lives. Facebook, Twitter and the like are a fantastic place to start. But what about going further and finding your audience where they are spending their time? In this instance maybe reach out on sites like cafemom, Mom Blog Network, or kirtsy. After you have opened up the conversation, step back and listen to what they are saying. It is only then that you will be able to actively participate. If the information you provided is interesting and relevant to them, people will talk about it with each other and with you. Listen to their feedback and do something about it. Then shut up and listen some more.
Happy networking, loves!
