Originally posted on ContextOptional.com.
Social media can seem overwhelming. Trying to keep up with what your friends are doing on Facebook, following experts on Twitter and reading up on blogs can be time-consuming. Once you’ve exposed yourself to the social sphere and are just as addicted as everyone else, it’s important to strike a balance between work and social life.
This is a challenge that many brands across the social networking world face every day. How do I make my page stand out among the millions of others? How do I get individuals to visit my page, and keep coming back?
According to TechCrunchies.com in a survey taken in December 2008, 2.6 billion minutes are spent each day on Facebook alone.
We all know it; social media is breaking every boundary when it comes to obtaining information. However, social media is all about interacting and when you follow, fan, or update, it involves action, thus taking up hours of the day.
Being productive while using social media is a lifestyle. It affects everything you do – what you buy, where you go, who you meet and, most importantly, how you spend your time. It’s important as a brand to realize that people might be limiting themselves on social networking sites; therefore, brands must make their page a “must-see” in order to retain their viewers.
So, now you’re asking, how does a brand create a successful Facebook page?
- Determine your target demographic. It’s important before a brand even starts travelling down the social media road that they figure out exactly who they want to reach. This will allow you to fine-tune your ultimate message in order to reach a greater amount of engaged users.
- Use other platforms. It is crucial to overall social media success to utilize all options when distributing your brand information. If you have a Facebook page, link it to your Twitter, your blog, vice versa. Hit ‘em from all angles. Also, supply slightly different information on each site giving users a reason to visit each individually.
- Utilize pre-existing pages or sites. Most likely, your brand already has a website. It’s important to integrate this website into your use of social media. Whether it’s through links, comments or redirects, using your pre-existing site will further your brand’s influence on the social media sphere.
- Become an expert. It is essential to your brand to become an expert in your industry. Why? Because, while you may be influencing a specific demographic, you also need to appeal to the user that may not know exactly what you do, but are ever so curious. If you appear as an expert in your field, you are more likely to attract all kinds of users who will then tell their friends to check you out because you are the specialist.
- Engage your users. People don’t just want to see facts and statistics (although they are interesting to some). The social media sphere is a world full of interaction and it is vital to your brand’s success to engage your users, provide an outstanding user experience, and keep them coming back for more. Use games, contests, polls, discussions, or whatever you think applies best to your brand’s goal. Interact and engage!
The social world covers a vast expanse of people from all demographics with different goals. It is important to be productive while using social media and to see it as a tool and not a distraction. Brands can help with this by creating opportunities for useful engagement.
