I've spent nearly four years researching and analyzing social communications and contagious ideas for my Science of Social Media presentation. It is currently a front-runner for Slideshare's 2010 World's Best Presentation Contest (I'd love it if you
went and voted for it
. Note: You have to log into SlideShare, which you can do with Facebook, and vote in the gray banner under the slides).
I am extremely passionate about this subject. As a preview for my
upcoming webinar
, I have taken 10 of the most important lessons from my research and distilled them into actionable advice that you can implement in your own marketing strategies and tactics.
10 Ways to Make your Social Media Marketing More Scientific
1. Try lots of campaigns and iterate on what works. Conduct your own version of evolution, start with many different ideas and learn which things did well and do more of that.
2. Audience size does matter. Quality does not negate the need for quantity, you need to have both engaged followers, and a large number of followers.
3. Find and target your influencers. Having influential people in your audience is important, and especially in less technical industries, those members of your market who are on social media first, are the most influential.
4. Bigger & louder works – to a point. You can yell over the top of the social media clutter, but only for so long.
5. Personalize: talk to your audience. Ever heard your name over the top of the noise in a crowded party? That's selective attention, utilize it in your marketing.
6. Avoid link fatigue. If you want more clicks, Tweet fewer links. Don't wear your audience's attention out.
7. Help your audience look cool. Social media users are constantly performing, so your brand needs to be a badge of honor to help increase their reputations.
8. Don’t let information voids form around your brand. Rumors form when there's a lack of authoritative information, always get out in front of every potential crisis.
9. Don’t talk about yourself so much. Nobody likes to talk to the guy at the party who's only talking about himself. Don't be that guy on social media.
10. Don’t forget calls-to-action. As with every kind of marketing, you need to ask your audience to take the action you want them to do. Social media is no different, ask for the share.
Have these methods worked for your business?
Inbound Marketing Blog Feed
Lisa Jeffries 3:39 PM on November 02, 2010
Dan,
I ventured over here to HubSpot thanks to a forwarded email from my colleague at Shoeboxed.com, Sonny Byrd. The email was about the "social media is BS" webinar and when I finally made my way to this post, I had to leave a comment about how much I agree! Your action points are brief, clear, and concise, and really serve as excellent points for any marketing campaign, social-media based or not. Thanks for the great read!
Chase Cashwell 11:50 PM on November 02, 2010
I really value what you have written...Those are all great points
Ken Gullette 2:05 PM on November 03, 2010
I spent 22 years in the news industry and I have one guiding philosophy on everything I do on social media -- the reader or viewer MUST walk away with information they can use; something that will help them. If I can sneak in a promotional message, fine, but most often if you give, you will receive.
hien 5:58 PM on November 03, 2010
Agree Agree & Agree, well done. How have you found the promotion landscape on facebook? there still seems to be disconnection with what is an authorised promotion by facebook... and what is actually happening out there in the market place.
Brady Lewis 7:52 PM on November 03, 2010
Thank you for the post. I agree with several of your points, especially avoiding link fatigue. It drives me nuts when people post link after link. I pretty much ignore everything they post.
Lori Berson 8:03 PM on November 03, 2010
Thanks! Great info, especially #10.
Andrew 4:30 AM on November 04, 2010
Great post - soars above the BS on the BS post
Justice Wordlaw 11:17 AM on November 05, 2010
Some of these social media methods have been roaming around in my mind but I have not yet put them into action. I find that the dishing out a lot of content on your twitter sometimes could be overwhelming for your followers. But, I wonder though if you don't constantly have information going out to your followers than what content should you share?
Dexter 4:36 PM on November 05, 2010
As someone just starting out with an online business, this sort of information is so helpful. Thanks
Michael kelly 2:45 PM on November 06, 2010
Nice (and possibly helpful) tips, but not science.
Science rarely comes in lists.
Matt Sullivan 9:38 AM on November 09, 2010
@Michael Kelly - While there is no "science" in this particular post, Dan does a great job following the scientific method when doing his research. I'm sure his presentation goes into more detail about his methods & analytics.
jammy 11:19 AM on November 17, 2010
Nice post but if we go ahead we will found more ways to develop relation with customer and learn how to engage them.
Paul Mulzoff 7:21 PM on November 17, 2010
thanks. this sums it all up nicely and succinctly.
Michael Kelly 10:19 PM on November 17, 2010
@Matt Sullivan I took at look at the entire 96 page presentation of findings and found what appears to be carefully collected observations and some comparisons. But not science. No connecting of the dots with hypotheses, no insights as to how things work or why. Just, if this is true, then do this. Not to say its not useful or not good, just, not science.
Karen Kubiak 9:57 AM on November 18, 2010
True, this might not be science. But it is excellent information without a lot of fluff. Thanks, Dan!
Mahmut Konar 2:55 PM on November 25, 2010
The old media getting worse, it gives it's place to new social media.