Your Biz Needs Buzz?
“The herd seek out the great, not for their sake but for their influence; and the great welcome them out of vanity or need.” -Napoleon Bonaparte
So you have finally buckled to the need of a social media marketing campaign for your business. You have created your social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc.) But for some reason you are just not getting the results you had hoped for.
Buzz, word-of-mouth, hype, most of all influence. And not just any influence, key influence from your company’s brand ambassadors. If you are lacking the word-of-mouth that you need to make your social media campaign worthwhile, it is time for you to consider an alternative approach. Starting with your content, and personnel.
There is a new trend of introducing a slew of key influences, individuals who openly support your brand, and do so by creating reliable, resourceful content. These individuals can be anyone, social media experts, industry consultants, fans, stay at home moms, Buddhist monk. You would be surprised who can influence a brand through digital media. It is your job to find these people.
Where to start:
- Figure out who your key players are, your coined brand ambassadors. Twitter is a great tool to search and hunt for individuals who are creating buzz about your product or industry. Get them before your opposition does.
- Create engaging content through your social media accounts, Facebook most specifically, and track which individuals seem to react to this content most efficiently. Tie them in, either by allowing them to guest blog, link their blog through your site, etc.
- Blogging. Allow a variety of guest bloggers to develop intelligent, well-researched and passionate content based around your industry or product.
- Lastly, let it grow organically. Allow your Key Influencers to take hold once trusted, and let them run freely creating buzz for you and your biz. And give them some love. If you can’t afford to pay at least offer discounts, gifts or promote them internally.
Social media is not a matter of should we have it, should we use it? But it is a matter of how we can use it to develop the best ROI, and Buzz for our brand. Develop a team of influential and active social media junkies, and allow them to strengthen your community organically.
Dicky Phillips 