I"€™m assuming your asking about engaging with Twitter +- Facebook +- Linked-In +- your own blog or community? Here are three dimensions for you to think about...
You"€™re right that it"€™s the initial engagement which is so difficult, and this is the case for any channel. Start with your audience - what do they need? They"€™re pressed for time and likely looking for something - what purpose do they have on your web site or web service? You have to offer them something that"€™s value-add and ideally inspiring "€“ maybe something entertaining that makes them sit up and take notice, or something extremely useful that solves a problem or answers a question. So, what is it that your audience will value - research it, ask them and then deliver it in whatever format that makes the most sense. Equally, use parts of that content on other web sites where your audience are online to help drive traffic back to your site. Ask what content can help your audience to learn something, solve a problem in their lives or at work"€¨, or simple entertain them.
Of course, it can be difficult to deliver unique content if you"€™re offering your audience similar content in other channels "€“ for example they already subscribe to an e-newsletter or a subscription service. So you have to develop a purpose, a compelling proposition for each social media channel ("€œonline value proposition"€ or OVP in Dave Chaffey"€™s textbooks) which best fits the channel and the type of person who uses it. Ask what you can offer that"€™s exclusive to that channel which takes advantage of the way that people interact with it "€“ so for example with Facebook it can be images or embedded videos to fuel discussion around a topic, with Linked-In maybe it"€™s answering peoples questions or providing useful alerts or offers via Twitter.
You also have to prioritise for each audience and manage the resource constraints - you can"€™t do everything. For Smart Insights for example we find that the majority of more senior marketing managers subscribe to email so the features in the email reflect that. Twitter is mainly, though not exclusively, used by agencies and consultants. Linked-In is about part-way between the two. Facebook is relatively low by volume and is currently hard to engage the audience with the time and nature of content that we have available, so we don"€™t tend to prioritise on that "€“ just syndicate the content and review/reply to comments.
It sounds obvious yet it"€™s easily overlooked, at a practical level you need to communicate the fact that you have relevant content and reasons to engage at various touch points, and reinforce that consistently. For example, you ideally need a run-of-site panel (not just on the home page) explaining your proposition for each social media channel or a more general reason to engage and with a clear link to each. You can use event tracking in Google Analytics to see which calls-to-action are most popular. Similarly, each social channels should also cross-promote the main web site or other channels, like email, to keep your communications integrated and to help your audience on their journey. Also, don"€™t forget to make it easy for your customers, members or fans to share on your behalf, build in the referral and viral mechanics so that it"€™s dead easy, and remind the reasons why it"€™s a good idea for them to share.
My last two thoughts - it can take time to explore the best uses and specific functions of each social media channel, so try things, monitor and measure what happens. Use the data and any user feedback to quickly and consistently improve what you"€™re doing. As you get interactions you will learn how these channels can work for your business and so set KPI"€™s and strategies that allow them to be taken seriously with more time and marketing investment.
By Danyl Bosomworth
Dan helped to co-found Smart Insights in 2010 and acted as Marketing Director until leaving in November 2014 to focus on his other role as Managing Director of First 10 Digital. His experience spans brand development and digital marketing, with roles both agency and client side for nearly 20 years. Creative, passionate and focussed, his goal is on commercial success whilst increasing brand equity through effective integration and remembering that marketing is about real people. Dan's interests and recent experience span digital strategy, social media, and eCRM. You can learn more about Dan's background here Linked In.
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