Social Media Success vs. Excess. One mistake I continually see here is people participating on social media, but spreading themselves too thin. Also, if you are updating statuses on all social media sites all day you are going to eventually waste time and look like you have attention deficit disorder. (Not that there is anything wrong with that, but you may scare off customers if you appear too scattered.) Pick one or two of the major sites (Facebook, Twitter or Linked In) and participate actively (meaning daily not ALL DAY). Also, please for the love of God make your status updates interesting and avoid “I am feeding the dog.” Most people do not care if you are feeding your pet Snoopy even if they are a dog lover. Keep your posts business related if you are promoting your business or product and tell your fans if you have a group page what you are working on/where you are/what you are doing. The worst thing ever is to create group and never update it (and yes, I know we need to work on M Comm s and please do not respond with a comment, thanks … we know).
Newsworthy Newsletters. Now, by “newsworthy” I mean “new(s)” and “worthy”. Keep your content fresh, interesting and geared toward your target audience. I have to pick on Orchard Supply Hardware again because I am trying to get off their dang email list and am still snickering about this week’s 30% off sale for power tools (whoopee-do). A lot of retailers will consistently send out a boring newsletter every week with the same message including product and sale, product and sale. Now, I don’t have a money tree growing in my yard so after awhile I like most people will lose interest in the same message over and over and not even read the newsletters from my favorite clothing store. Switch it up and give helpful and informative information. Also, if you have a product launch do it once or twice and then give it a rest, because it is not “new” any more. Last, if you are creating a fan base, people are really interested in the people aspect – where you are, what you are doing, etc., because chances are if they are a fan they already have your product. Finally (this comes after last), please create a professional template and use an inexpensive service like Constant Contact. You need to put your best marketing foot forward in this market and if you are not a graphic designer – please hire one because there is nothing worse than a disaster with multiple fonts, colors and overall lack of cohesiveness. This type of self-created template will also be considered for target practice in future M-Dash newsletters as well as our radio show. We won’t use your name though I promise.
