The History Lesson
In the past, communities were centred around geography. In the past decades, geography has taken a back seat. Life has become a series of drive-thru conveniences, with very little connection between people. Along came the Internet, and the definition of community grew to include groups of geographically-separated folks with common interests. Thousands of sites now exist with the purpose of bringing people closer together. We now, more than ever, have the ability to connect with each other, learn and grow as a society.
We must think about social media marketing not as a business practice, but a symbiotic network building practice. Symbiosis is balance, and without natural balance, we push so hard in the wrong direction that eventually the whole thing snaps. I don’t intend to turn this post into a rant about why leveraging (as in the stock market) is a bad thing, as we have seen recently with the global economic condition. But as a counter-example, we can all see how anti-symbiotic the financial community has been over the past decade, eventually leading to a complete collapse.
Social Media Rules
The key is symbiosis. How can we attain symbiosis with social media marketing?
- Be authentic. The most important rule. If this is as far as you read, know that being completely honest and authentic is the only way to truly succeed. Word of mouth is the best advertising, but it is can also be your worst enemy. Social Media has the same benefits as the open source software community: There are thousands of people who have nothing better to do with their time than poke holes in your arguments. Ultimately, you need customers in order to sustain your business, but remember, those same customers will abandon you if you take them for granted.
- You are not elite. Think of your customers as peers heading for a common goal rather than revenue-producing units. Social Media gives the impression of an even playing field, and your customers want to feel like they are your friend. If you don’t want to be friends with your customers, then you are in the wrong job. Since you are being authentic, the customer/vendor relationship becomes one of mutual benefit.
- Open your doors. Show the world who you are. Provide profiles of team members, and even a way for customers to talk to them. And not just the executives. Remember that if you want your customers to be your friends, they want to be your friends too. It’s a two-way street.
- Let your customers sell your product. Provide high-quality pictures, details, recommendations – the usual. But also provide a place for the community to discuss the product. I am more apt to listen to someone who tells me what the limitations of a product are, so that I can make an informed decision as to whether it is suitable for my purposes or whether I should go for the next step up. If you’re trying to pull the wool over your customers’ eyes, again, you’re in the wrong job.