SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY; CREATING CONTENT

A marketer must constantly develop new content to continue the conversation with a customer.  It is analogous to a human relationship.  If two people are constantly talking about the same things over and over again, that relationship will become dull and stale, and it will end.  People constantly want to be renewed in their relationships.  Customers constantly want to become renewed in their relationship with their brands.

Rihanna is a perfect example.  She is constantly renewing the content on her Page.  She is constantly expanding her relationship with her fans. Rihanna uses her fans to help her brand.  Rihanna owns the brand, but her fans experience it. Here are some ways to create brand through your page:

·        Spend time with your audience. Know where their coming from. Know the issues they are facing. Rihanna knows that her fans are interested in her music and her fashion.  She loads up her page with things she knows that her fans are going to like.

·        Be in it for the long haul. The things you do on your Page shouldn’t done to get a quick sale.  Social media is about creating long term relationships. The Ford Fiesta campaign was not about getting people to sign up for a car.  It was to introduce the car through a series of fun experiences. It was a 6 month campaign. At the end of this fun campaign, the Fiesta had 38% awareness.

·        Engage your customers by asking questions. Find out how they perceive the product.  See how they interpret the brand---and construct the content on the page that deals with that perception.

·        Always remember that you are engaging real people with real lives and concerns.  Establishing trust requires creating reliable, nurturing, prospect-focused information that is committed to offering value, with no strings attached.

·        The page should capture the reader’s attention visually. The page should have commands for readers to perform. At Rihanna’s sight, you can download music from the Page, you can make a contribution for Japan relief. To create the brand, customers have to interact with it.

The strategy for a Page can take on many areas. In the Obama and Fiesta campaign, the Page was there to attract customers and create relationships. In the case of Rihanna, the Page does both.  It creates a relationship, but Rihanna also tries to monetize her sight. Both work. It does take a strategy for deciding just what do you want to do. Here are some more ideas about engaging customers to create brand through your Page:

·        Be bold. Catch the reader’s attention.

·        Be shameless. In the case of Rihanna, she knows that people want her music and she knows that people will pay for it. People understand that nothing is for free. On her Page, Rihanna clearly states what is free and what is to be paid for.

·        Be frequent.  If you are going to monetize your sight, a strategy is to have the offer at different spots on the Page.

·        Be exclusive. Have an offer that is something that is exclusive to her Page. In the case of Rihanna, if a concert is planned, she could offer free tickets and a chance to meet Rihanna personally. The tickets can only be had through the Page.

Dean Hambleton

deanhambletonsocialmediastrategy.com

dnhambleton@gmail.com