Social media is a great way of influencing action from your
audience as well as informing them about the happenings in your business or
industry as a whole. With so much
clutter and consumers seeing hundreds if not thousands of targeted messages,
everyday; It imperative to stand out from the crowd, indulge in your creative
juices and employ a bit of innovation in your social media communication.
One of the most recent and viable ways of standing out is
the usage of and mixing up of images, in the background or main area of your
social media space. While on this you may want to shift focus to the most important
stakeholders of your business, let your business thrive on their creativity,
for example acknowledge and share the pictures they put on your wall. By doing
this your business will not only be increasing loyalty, but it will also be
retaining customers.
Additionally and as mentioned above, an innovative social
media marketing plan ensures that it sways and involves its customers. Thus the
importance of generating content from the people for whom your content is
intended (your customers) cannot be stressed enough. A look at customer
generated content like case studies helps to spread the word around about your
brand. A focus on customer case studies on your blog enchants the customer to
tell people within their circles about your mention of them, therefore
directing traffic to the place you want them the most, your brand/site/blog/
social media page.
It also should be mentioned that social media communication/
marketing is a dual duty, therefore
brands should not rest on their laurels by assuming that only they can be
innovative. You can never go wrong with picking the creative bone of your
audience. An effective way of doing this is by challenging your audience to try
and beat you at a blog post/ comment / drawing. Most audiences are always
looking to be inspired and by challenging them you will learn that your brand
will earn a new accolade, that of being an “inspiring” brand.
Lastly although we may need them to effectively carry out
our marketing plan, a shift from public social networks cannot damage one’s
brand at all. In fact more and more brands are embracing the idea and ability
to create their own online communities, an example is social examiner with
their Networking clubs online community. Once you have invited you customers
into your online community you can rest assured as to having brandvocates
(brand advocates) who will spend most of their time on your brand.
