Bob Cargill’s Marketing Show

The Importance of Listening on Social Media

Listen to what your connections, constituents and customers have to say about their hopes, dreams and accomplishments.

Engage with them. Learn from them. 

Comment on their content. Like it and share it.

The more you do for others, the more they’ll do for you.

Working the crowd successfully on social media means listening as much as, or even more than, you talk.

Don't Let the Grass Grow Under Your Feet on Social Media

Don’t let the grass grow under your feet on social media.

For starters, make sure you have established a solid presence on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and anywhere else your constituents hang out online.

Stake out your turf now, if you haven’t already.

But that’s not enough. You need to be active on these channels on a regular basis, not just occasionally.

Frankly, you need to be all over the place on social media – as long as your audience is there, too – engaging, communicating, listening, entertaining, informing and supporting.

Don’t just stand there, either. Do something. Share something. Say something. Anything. Otherwise, you’re missing a big opportunity to build long-lasting, mutually-beneficial relationships with your fans, followers and friends.

Don’t let the grass grow under your feet on social media.

The Golden Rule on Social Media

 

To those people who say no one is paying attention to them on social media, I say...the more you give, the more you get.

Whatever you are doing, wherever you are, even on Instagram and Facebook, it's all about the Golden Rule.

Likes. Comments. Shares. That's what others on social media hope to receive from you.

Give your support to those you admire and respect, and they'll be likely to reciprocate.

Do for others what you hope they would do for you.

As it is in real life, it should be on social media, too.

Get the love and attention you want and deserve.

Practice the Golden Rule online and off.

Collaboration is Music to the Ears of Your Audience on Social Media

Bruno Mars and Cardi B. Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett. Florida Georgia Line and Bebe Rexha.

Performers in the music world do it often. They collaborate. They form partnerships. They join forces to produce music that they know they couldn’t have done on their own.

You can do the same thing on social media.

Hook up with other brands, businesses and people to produce content that you couldn’t do on your own.

Guest post on their blogs and vice versa. Conduct interviews. Barter services. Tag-team projects. Engage with them in some way, shape or form. Put different faces and voices in front of your audience every so often.

The results may pleasantly surprise you.

Collaboration is music to the ears of your audience on social media.

The Importance of Authenticity on Social Media in the Fake News Era

Fake news is all around us.

Turn on the TV. Listen to the radio. Read the newspaper.

Liars, cheaters and stealers abound.

Who knows who and what to believe anymore?

That’s why it’s more important than ever for businesses and brands to have candid conversations with their connections and constituents.

Honesty has always been the best policy, but today the truth will set you far apart from the competition and the clutter.

Today, the more transparent, authentic and immediate you are, the more successful you will be in business.

Use social media to engage with your audience as human beings, not logos and corporate colors.

Use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and the like to establish long-lasting, mutually-beneficial relationships with your customers and prospects.  

Keeping it real as never been more important if you want to succeed as a marketing, advertising or PR professional.

If You Snooze, You Lose on Social Media

You don’t want to be conspicuous in your absence on social media.

After all, you never really know when your connections, constituents and customers are going to be looking for you.

You want to have a strong, steady presence on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook...day in and day out.

You want to be easy to be found and available when they find you.

Share both written and visual content on a regular basis.

Show you have a personality, not just a pulse.

Put a face on your brand and a smile on your face.

Don’t rest on your laurels. Don’t fall asleep at the wheel.

If you snooze, you lose on social media.  

March to the Beat of Your Own Drum on Social Media

My sister, Cathy, and I used to make-believe we were rock stars.

This was a long time ago, when we were just kids.

We’d play along to records by bands like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Monkees.

She would strum her guitar and sing. I would bang my drum sticks on a stack of magazines.

We were being improvisational. We were being spontaneous. We were being ourselves.

That’s how you should be on social media.

You need to make some noise that stands out among the cacophony of competition.

You need to create content that is music to the ears of your audience.

You don't want to overthink it. You just want to do it.

You need to march to the beat of your own drum on social media.

Video Killed the Marketing Star

Do Things the Opposite Way on Social Media

Lead Your Own Tribe

In his 2008, Tribes, Seth Godin wrote, "The essential lesson is that every day it gets easier to tighten the relationship you have with the people who choose to follow you." That was in 2008. This is 2018. There are no excuses anymore for brands, businesses and business people not to be leaders of their own tribes on social media. What about you? Have you positioned yourself and your brand as a leader on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and the like? Do you have your own tribe?