Social media is more than just getting a bunch of friends, unless you are just wanting to be popular. When Social Media is used for Marketing purposes then you need a strategy. So, I took some time the other day and sought out Rob Riggs, with ExpertsofSocialMedia. Rob and the team specializes in running social media campaigns for small businesses, corporations, and even a few politicians, to enhance the benefits derived from social networking.
Q. In your opinion what is the most powerful social networking tool?
A. When developing a social media marketing strategy you want to create a funnel. Personally, I believe that Twitter is the most powerful social media tool because you can interact with a large number of people with very little effort. Using the funnel system, we connect to people on Twitter, then influence our connections there to connect on Facebook, followed by Linkedin, and then our Youtube Channel. Your blog page should be the end result, and serve as an information page. When individuals who follow you on these social media sites want more information regarding you and your company, they will go to your blog for that information.
Q. Currently you have 17K followers on Twitter what is the best way for an individual starting out to get more followers?
A. The reason why having a large number of followers on Twitter or any social media site is because numbers establish credibility. My business partners and I are in the process of building an application to get you twitter followers automatically. I will let your readers know as soon as we launch. But until that application comes out, you can spend about 30 minutes everyday or every other day dedicated to increasing followers, and maintaining a balance between those you follow, and those who follow you. The rule of thumb: follow people who will follow you back.
Q. Once you have followers what is the best way to interact with them?
A. Do not come out marketing your product. Offer value. By offering value, you will build relationships. Once your relationships are solid, your credibility is established. Then once you have credibility, you can begin a soft marketing push, and your followers will be more willing to look into the product promoted. But social media is a marketing channel, not a sales channel. Trying to sell products via a marketing channel will alienate people you’ve built relationships with.
Q. What Twitter sites do you use the most?
A. The four sites that I use the most are:
- Tweetlater – Now known as Social Oomph. This helps you to schedule your tweets.
- Twellow – This is the yellow pages of Twitter
- Friend Feed – This is a live feed that connects most all of your social media activity. You get much more targeted traffic and its more strategic.
- Twollow – Helps you to automatically follow individuals that use special keywords.
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