Social media marketing is about gaining attention and traffic to your social sites through updates and shares. It’s about marketing your product or service on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even Pinterest or Snapchat. Since it does differ from traditional marketing like print and newsletters, social media marketing requires businesses to build a new foundation for their marketing strategy from which they can develop. In order for your small business to do this, take a look at these marketing “laws” that explore how social media marketing works.
Law of Listening
This law is considered one of the most important aspects of social media marketing. As a marketer you must listen to your customers and what they’re saying. What do they love? What do they hate? What are they saying about your product in general? These types of questions are crucial in determining what kind of relationship your customers have with your product. Even though social media is about being interactive, be sure to listen first and foremost.
Law of Focus
When social media first came on the marketing scene, it was best if your company had a broad strategy but that’s not the case anymore. Now, it’s best if your business has a niche market or something that differentiates it from others. Take the company Lehman’s for example; their niche market is made up of non-electric tools. This segment focuses on the Amish community and is made up of 40,000 people who have helped grow this small company internationally. So find your voice, demographic or niche that separates your brand from the competition.
Law of Quality
Quality over quantity, is a widely used phrase that is perfect for social media marketing. For instance, Company A has 100,000 followers on Twitter that rarely interact with them and Company B has 1,000 followers who are consistently engaged and communicate back and forth frequently. Which company would you rather be? The correct answer: Company B. The reason for this is because the quality of users you have reflects back on the content you produce, which again needs to be good quality.
Law of Influence
Social media marketing is about having influence. The best way to gain the trust of your customers is through influencers or people of “celebrity” status. Try connecting with an influencer who has a similar type of market as your business. So if you’re looking into marketing and SEO insights, try following Rand Fishkin, founder and former CEO of Moz, as an influencer for your product. The act of building a relationship is very important for the influencer to respect what your brand's position. Also, something to note is that most influencers require compensation for promoting products.
Law of Acknowledgment & Law of Reciprocity
These two laws go hand in hand which is why they're being discussed together. As the name indicates, social media marketing is a social action. Meaning when your customers post or ask questions about your brand/product, the best thing to do is acknowledge their presence. Always, always respond to customers, even those who post negative comments. By doing this, you are reciprocating, which is the next law. The easiest part of social media is communicating with your customers and having a conversation with them. Sharing and reposting content from your followers will keep you interactive and keep them involved with your brand, which is what you want!
Overall, social media is a growing marketing technique that uses many platforms to reach the 2.3 billion active users every day. These are only 6 of the marketing laws that Susan Gunelius, CEO of KeySplash researched as the building blocks of social media marketing. If you would like to learn about the rest, then check out her video here.
