Social Media Executive Primer Part 5

Audience Relationships

As with all marketing, the focus of Social Media is to build (and even repair) relationships. The key to driving a successful relationship is relevance. If your content isn’t of much interest to a reader, it is doubtful you will ever be able to build a relationship with that person.

Remember your goal is to create raving fans. And not only that, but to create raving fans that actually rave about you. With 97% of social media readers laying on the sand and only 3% actually in the water, you begin to see the kind of numbers game you’ll have to play to get others to rave about you.

And in order to do that, you have to communicate about something that your target audience is completely passionate about. The good news is that Social Media encompasses an enormous number of very detailed segments that you can tap into. The more specific the segment the better your chances at building a lasting, raving fan relationship.

It will obviously require more dedicated resources to create the many different segmented conversations you’ll likely identify. Batch and Blast has no place in social media, or anywhere else for that matter. Choose niches that convert, then go after everyone else. It is better to go after a group of 20 swimmers than 20,000 sunbathers.

If you currently use marketing automation tools, another way to build the relationship is to get your readers into your database so you can add them to your nurturing/scoring programs. Don’t think social media replaces email. In fact, a recent Nielsen Company analysis found that the heaviest social media users actually use email more, perhaps because of the steady stream of messages that social networks dump into participants’ inboxes.

Whichever voice you choose, know that the conversation will have to be passionate, dedicated, consistent and even intimate if you want real results. Just remember, your conversations are always about what you can do for your reader, it’s never about what they can do for you.

Your conversations are real-time examples of your brand. Build raving fans and let them disseminate your brand for you.
 
Part 1-Social Media: An Executive Primer
Part 2-Define Your Strategy
Part 3-Define Your Purpose
Part 4-Define Your Voice
Part 5-Audience Relationships
Part 6-How to Start
Part 7-Measuring Success
Part 8-Social Media Do’s and Don’ts

Updated 5-8-12
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Steve Kellogg

-Demand Generation/Marketing Automation Consultant, Astadia
-Eloqua Certified Marketing Best Practices Consultant