How do you get Engagement?

Everybody wants to be "liked" and the popular company, artist or site – especially in today’s Facebook and Google+ world, where the thumbs-up “Like”  or +1 buttons represent the ultimate stamp of approval from consumers to their networks. But how do you get the “Like” love on Facebook  and +1's on Google+ (and other crowd-sourced social media channels)? The key is to engage those within the network, giving them a real reason to opt into your Page. 

Facebook Pages and Google+ pages have grown in popularity and importance over the last few years, often serving as a second home page for your business on the Web.   Today it's a lot more than just Facebook and Google + it's Pinterest, Instagram, SnapChat and other sites.  Chances are that your target customers already have Facebook accounts and Google+ accounts and they will spend an average of 25-30 minutes on the social networking site each day. The news feed your target audience views intersperses updates from the Pages they “Like” among the pictures and status updates from their friends and family, essentially giving you a self-selected audience wanting to hear your advertising for free. It’s a no-brainer to "make your business front of mind of your targeted audience" the real proposition that needs to be solved is "What do your customers or followers want to learn from you?  How do you add value to their lives?"

How do you create ways to get them involved with your Page and media? Here are some ideas:

• Create a contest that requires them to “Like” or +1 your page. Vivint does this wonderfully each year with their “Vivint Gives Back” contest. They give away $1.5 million dollars to the top-voted charity overall as well as $250,000 to the winners in each of five regions. Most people are willing to click “Like” to support a cause close to their hearts, and it’s a great way for Vivint to get name recognition as people post about the contest on their own Page in order to drum up votes.

• Gather email addresses and have them opt in to receiving emails from your business.  Direct email is still a very effective form of marketing.

• Offer coupons and deals for people who Like your page. It’s as simple as posting to your Facebook or Google+ that anyone who mentions a certain code on a particular day will get a discount. This is a great way to give back to your top fans – after all, if they’ve taken the initiative to opt into your network, they likely merit the recognition.

• Reciprocate the love by interacting with those who write on your wall. It builds the sense of a one-on-one relationship between the consumer and brand, and those are the kind of relationships that foster customer loyalty. When you consider how expensive the conversion process is, taking that next step to make your individual brand evangelists feel like their loyalty is recognized and appreciated is worth every cent spent in time and effort.

Why Should You be Using Social Media?

With nearly 80 percent of corporations now incorporating social media into their marketing and communication strategy mix, the role of a social strategist is becoming more and more standard as a needed and respected part of the marketing team.  Business-to-consumer communication has been revolutionized with the advent of social media in the last decade.   Consumers are now in direct communication with businesses online.  No need for consumers to make phone calls or write snail mail.  The speed of business has increased with the need to respond to the consumer in a timely manner.  What is your marketing strategy today?

Mashable published an awesome infographic about what it takes to be a social strategist. Even if you have no desire to make social media your 9-to-5 daily grind, what are some things you can learn from the social media managers and other social media professionals surveyed? 

The characteristics identified as making these strategists successful at their jobs were, in order:

I’m multi-disciplinary and can wear many hats.” (58%)

I’m willing to take risks.” (46%)

I can rally different stakeholders across the organization.” (45%)

I can effectively lead a multi-faceted, cross-departmental effort.” (38%)

I have experience in social media.” (37%)

I have a long-term customer-centric vision for the program.” (24%)

I can communicate the ROI to executive leadership.” (16%)

I have been working at my company many years.” (13%)

What really stands out in these numbers is that the key to success for these strategists has less to do with ROI or long-term plans and more to do with the ability to innovate – whether that be juggling disparate responsibilities and trying new things without the fear of failure.   Be creative, think outside the box!

Word of Mouth: Networking as Marketing?

Networking is undoubtedly an important professional activity, but could you use it for marketing – or even as your sole means of marketing? By harnessing word of mouth’s power while providing a quality good or service with potential to help people, it’s possible to build a brand your contacts are eager to share with their network.

In order to build marketing by word of mouth, however, you have to learn how to network adeptly. At the heart of it is creating, nurturing, and developing relationships.

Believe you will succeed in order to succeed

To do this adeptly, Canadian businessman Michael J. Hughes, whose successful Ottawa, Ontario-based consulting company markets solely via word of mouth following here are his personal tips.

6 parts of the networking process to master:

• Make the approach/impression – Spend the first five seconds like a host, making your discussion partner feel comfortable while taking charge, smiling, and listening closely.

• Build rapport – Active listening works wonders in building rapport because it shows genuine interest and gives your discussion partner a sense of safety. As Hughes said, “Wanting to know more about a person is one of the biggest compliments we can pay.”

• Structure the conversation – When spring boarding off of the rapport into the meat of the conversation, keep your discussion partner in mind once more. By structuring the discussion around him or her and showing genuine interest, you’ll be able to foster trust that leads to successful business relationships. Wait to present your message or selling point until a sense of trust has been established, and be careful to not get preachy or come off as giving a presentation. Remember, the focus should be relationships. “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care,” Hughes said.

• Close with confidence – Few things get more awkward than when a conversation should end but no one is willing to make it happen. Take charge by moving out of out of the conversation while helping your conversation partner transition into another one. Include a next step – offer to keep in touch, schedule a time to talk again – so the next point of contact will be expected (and you can gauge the interest for it). Be sure to thank the other person for his or her time.

• Follow up – Keep good on your word by carrying out whatever next steps were set in the conversation. Find legitimate, value-adding reasons to stay in touch. This will not only keep you top of mind, but it also shows follow through, which is sorely lacking in today’s business landscape.

Nurture the relationship – Again, the end goal is not to make a sale. As you foster a real relationship with others in your field, inevitably they’ll want to refer you to those in their networks and vice versa. Look for ways to partner with them on clients, create referral opportunities, or find other points of overlap, and you’ll be able to expand your network and find ever-increasing opportunities.

Janz Media LLC