What Your Parents Taught You About Social Media Marketing

Julia and I just came back from a play date at a local recreation center. Being around 1- to 3-tear-old creaming ‘machines’ who are constantly stealing balls and toy cars from each other made me think about… you got it!... social media marketing.

From young a age our parents taught us the importance of sharing. Unfortunately, many companies still overlook this critical element of social media marketing. It’s too bad, because without a comprehensive sharing strategy, your online marketing efforts might not get the exposure – and results – they deserve.

The Importance of Sharing In Social Media Marketing
Today’s customers are empowered with information. The Internet has allowed people to access and share knowledge, which made the word of mouth one of the most trusted sources of information about products and brands. Get online, and you’ll find that the Web is flooded with website, blogs, social pages, forums and more filled with information about your company.

Unfortunately, you have little control over what information your customers share about your company and how they share it. But you can channel that information in ways that align with your overall marketing strategy.

Be Nice and Share
The first thing you need to do is to start sharing yourself. Create content about your company and its offerings as well as about other things that relate to your products/services/industry and are of an interest to your target audience. Create as much quality content as you can, create it in many formats and publish it on multiple social media sites. Then, make it easy for your audience to find and share that information.

Teach Them about Sharing
Don’t just assume that your customers will share your content. Guide them. Invite them to tweet about a blog post, email a product page to friends, or post your YouTube video to Facebook. Be direct about what you want them to do and offer options.

In addition, encourage customers create their own content. Ask your audience for comments and reviews and reward contribution. Saying “Thank you,” is usually enough. But you can also reward them in other ways. For example, Home Depot asks its customers to write a product review for a chance to win a $1000 gift card.

Remember, a comprehensive sharing strategy can help you build strong relationships with your audience, expand your reach and deepen market penetration.

So, how do you make sharing part of your social media marketing strategy?