Social Media is a widespread platform that offers engagement between a person and another. The articles, listed below, include tips and techniques on how to engage using social media.
Starting with Andrew Pressault, his article gives solid advice on how to engage with customers and build a brand which will help gain traction and start conversation in the social sphere. He first tells us to listen to our audience and start conversation. What does our audience want? We can find those answers by looking at our Facebook Page, for example, and read the comments. Ask questions. Answer questions. What about criticism? He identifies that criticism is not necessarily a bad thing as it represents a great opportunity to fix a problem and show empathy – and, of course, this is done publically, showing even those who did not offer the critics that you genuinely care. He also teaches us that promoting others’ content creates a sense of community as it makes members of that community feel that they have to share your content too.
Government agencies, and politicians, are finally noticing and incorporating social media into their every day lives, shown in Zachary Sniderman’s post. Although some do not agree with the usage of Social Media, countries are participating to connect with their communities like Canada, the U.S., Russia, etc. The public can now be brought into the discussion. According to some politicians, “Social media is an expectation as much as it’s an opportunity.” It should be the norm for government agencies to participate in social media which would allow for connection, engagement and influence for the public.
How do you engage with your audience with a non-profit? Roger Dooley says an important factor is altruism. Give, support, donate and volunteer. But that isn’t the non-profits job – of course its their job to influence the public to do so. What’s going to make a non-profit show their ways of altruism is using social media to recognize and encourage desired behaviour. A donor would definitely show recognition if they gave an expensive donation, but what about those who do minimal steps? A simple Facebook post can show a donor the appreciation at zero cost!
Lastly, Patricia Redsicker outlines four platforms that are most relevant to social media marketing right now!
- Visual Networks: People are more attracted to things that pop out at them. (Kind of like my picture above!). Plain old text will not grab someones attention. Use platforms such as Instagram (my favourite), Tumblr and Pinterest.
- Google+: even if you’re just using it for SEO, you should still create a presence.
- Facebook: It’s an awesome platform to post content with graphics, videos, links, etc.
- LinkedIn: Take advantage of their publishing platform!
All articles possess techniques on how you can use social media to engage with your audience. It is the 21st century, Social Media is growing and never going anywhere. We should use it to our benefits!
How to Use Social Media to Engage With Customers and Build Your Brand, by Andrew Pressault, Hubspot
How Governments are Using Social Media for Better and Worse, by Zachary Sniderman, July 25, 2011
Non-Profits: Drive Behaviour with Social Media, Roger Dooley, June 20, 2013
New Research Shows Which Social Networks are Ideal for Marketers, by Patricia Redsicker, April 8, 2014
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