Joe Ryder, (a)g

Here are some quick tips on how to boost your social marketing campaign. Sure, you have a video on YouTube, a Facebook group or fan page, a web site… but what does all that mean?

1. Put a face to your profiles: If you are a company with a social profile on MySpace, Facebook, Windows Live Spaces, Friendster, Bebo, Ning, CafeMom, DeviantART, Jaiku, Last.fm, LinkedIn, LiveJournal, Orkut, quarterlife, Spoke, tribe, or any other socially-oriented site, you need to consider having a specific person be the subject of your profile. Most friendship requests will go unanswered if it is a company looking to lock profiles with you. The last thing people need is spam, and especially on Facebook friendships can mean getting useless crap in their status update notifications. Besides, having a spokesperson creates the opportunity to design your own pseudonym or mascot. Find a good character designer in any professional writer’s association to bring to life the face of your profile. Better yet, put an employee in charge of it.
2. YouTube views come with interest: Create videos with substance. Don’t just string together a photo slideshow with some hip music attached. Don’t narrate the same words on the screen. Don’t put your television commercial exactly as-is from the cable broadcast version. None of these have any results. YouTube interest follows the same as regular television: sex, pratfalls, jokes, pranks, amazing information (and I mean astonishingly amazing), hints, how-tos, celebrities, watching other people in pain, family storylines, conflict, talking animals and stupidity (among others). These things sell. Create your content with interest and tell them where to go next. And in some cases try to put some mystery in the ending, something that makes them want to learn more at your web site. But then give them something new to really learn about on your site.
3. Social media supports other media: Social media is not omnipotent or sovereign. Make sure it is mentioned on other marketing that you are active in social markets, like a line on your print ad saying, “Find us on Facebook.” The reverse is true as well: “See us advertised in Time Magazine this month.”
4. Social networking can be socially responsible: Some of the best marketing campaigns in social platforms are the ones that pursue a social responsibility, like corporations that also own a non-profit. If you have a negative image in one aspect, counteract that by opening a social media campaign promoting you in a positive manner. For instance, automakers failing to diversify their engine technology could help counteract that negative press by opening an Orkut profile to network together open source engine designers or a Facebook group promoting new education options for front-line autoworkers.
5. Give away something: Swag is still in style. Give away something. It could be a nifty little badge shared on WidgetBox, or a free ringtone from Lulu.com, or a free t-shirt direct from your distributor. Just for finding them (NOT FOR MAKING FRIENDS), give something for their effort.
6. Update!: Don’t create a profile and update it quarterly. Put some effort into it. If you can’t do it yourself or assign an employee, hire a consultancy that provides content creation on social platforms (I do that myself as a Design Option). Stale profiles get deleted from friend lists.
7. Track it for six months (at least): Social networking, like SEO, is a building process. You lay the foundation by creating profiles and then build up from there by conducting social interactions. To see a real result in a month is very rare, even for big corporations who advertise their profile through traditional means. It’s also trial and error for most small businesses. And don’t get discouraged if you find out there is no market in social media. Perhaps you are a company with clients that need more face time with your products. Just the fact that there is a lot of activity on social networks doesn’t mean you will be successful too.