You receive an invitation from someone to be your friend on a social media platform (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn,etc).
You accept the invitation and feel good about it.
Immediately, you receive a message talking about liking their Facebook page, visiting their website or buying their product.
All of a sudden, you feel like another number and realize the person does not care about you.
The problem is many businesses or salespersons are really quick to go for the closing sale.
Just because it worked pre-social media does not mean it will work now.
The one thing that they wonder is which social media platform should they use to amplify their message.
That is why they will hire all of the best and brightest social media consultants out there to guide them on which social media platform to use.
Another thing they will do is hire interns, mostly millennials to run the social media pages of their websites.
They feel it will offset the learning curve of learning the channels on their own that will save them time and money.
The problem is that the message can get diluted because it is going through an hierarchy of people who are trying to protect their brand.
Though it is understandable that they want to protect their brand, the executives are in a sense hurting their message and their reputation because of the different message.
So they go towards hiring a community manager to deal with the ever changing facets of social media.
That is why there is an explosive growth with community managers in this day and age.
They are on the front lines dealing with the customers/clients.
The community managers are making sure they are solving the problems of their customers and also representing their workplace well.
If you are a small company and you have one person that is a community manager, then that is a recipe for disaster.
And if the community manager or strategist who works for a large company can’t deliver the results in the time frame (estimation 3-6 months) that the executives wants, they will be out of a job.
That is why Koka Sexton said on a #sbizhour chat a couple of week ago that he was hesistant at first in taking the job as the Group Manager, Content and Social Marketing position at LinkedIn because of the life cycle for social media managers.
And just to clarify on this, LinkedIn is one of the few companies who understand the importance of treating their employees right.
The popular professional site with over 300 million members also allow their employees to shine and create a name for themselves as well.
So how can companies become more social on social media without being too salesy?
These two steps should solve that question
1. The CEO/Executives Should Be Involved In Social Media
The reason why the CEO/Executives should be involved with social media is because they will show their authenticity and transparency.
Many people now, especially millennials want more companies to be more transparent with their customers and brands.
When they showcase their authenticity, they build trust with their potential customers.
In the long run, they will build a loyal following and also, build their own personal brand.
Example of a CEO/Executive who is on the front lines for their company is the one and only Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin Group.
2. They Must Engage With Their Customers
Companies need to take the time to listen to what the customer is saying more than ever.
One of the best ways for a company to listen to their customer is to participate in group chats on the different social media platforms.
Example of a company who took the time to participate in a Twitter chat was Caesar Palace via Amber Fabre.
Ms. Fabre, who is an employee at the Caesar Palace, took the time out of her busy schedule to be a guest on the social hangout Twitter chat recently to share about how they operate during huge events that takes place in Las Vegas.
Because of their willingness to allow Ms. Fabre to be transparent with the potential customers and fans on the #socialhangout, they earned the respect of many people.
So if a company wants to be successful with social media, they must be very authentic and build relationships if you want to be successful in this day and age.
If you can show your customers that you care, you and your business will be way ahead of your competition.
On the other hand, if you are going for a quick sale after connecting with a person, your reputation will be ruined because people will be talking about you in a negative light.
First appeared on Vallano Media
