oFind out how using "real" events connects you to your customers oDiscover if having multiple personalities online work for your brand oIs social climbing the best way to reach your target audience? oCheck out how to quantify the effectiveness of your online engagement Whether you're on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or MySpace, the personality you shape online is not only part of your overall brand, it's also an interactive experience for you and your business.
Thus, it's important that you invest some time working on your social media personality so you can effectively converse with your target audience.
Keep in mind the tips below while embarking on your social media adventure, and you're likely to impressively increase your brand visibility without even engaging in an online marketing agency: oHave a human face The point of creating a personality online is to encourage dialogue from your customers, so don't be afraid of posting "real" events that happen in your life.
Think along the lines of "driver just cut into my lane without signalling" as opposed to "bad traffic today".
The former connects people and this will encourage dialogue.
Through the dialogue, you'll be able to build opportunities by connecting them with your business.
oStay consistent with your avatar and profile bio The first rule you have to take note about your avatar and profile bio is to stay consistent with them throughout all platforms.
Having multiple personalities do not work in social media.
If you confuse your customers, you lose.
But to start creating a profile bio and to upload an avatar is not as straightforward as it sounds.
You have to realise that putting up a company logo or a picture of the president sends entirely different messages to your customers.
Creating a Facebook "group" or "fan" pages also requires different branding approach.
Consider putting up an inviting avatar with one or all of the following attributes (together with great content): a smiling face, a full colour photo, or a cool logo created by your website designer.
For social platforms such as Twitter and MySpace, you may also engage a web designer to create a background graphic that reflects your brand.
oDon't just focus on social climbing While building up your online personality, it makes sense to connect with people having thousands of "followers" or "friends".
However, it is actually better to connect more quality audiences.
If you are using Twitter, utilise the search function and type in keywords associated with your business.
Send a personal "tweet" to everyone talking about your keywords.
People will interact with you and check out your Twitter stream.
If you're using Facebook, create a "group" or "fan" page and post regularly to engage with your "friends" and "fans".
You will be surprised to see your reach grow at an exponential rate.
oAnalyse what your brand is all about There is no one-size-fits-all approach to building the personality of your brand.
Explore and carry out a research on any of the social media platform to find out about others' experience with your product.
Be aware of your brand offline as well and analyse whether they match.
For example, if you keep talking about your impressive customer service on Facebook without ensuring that your staffs actually give quality service, your customers will not react well to this inconsistency.
Customers will think that you don't keep your promises and may instead post some negative comments online.
oFocus on return of engagement The point of engaging in social media is for return of engagement.
Here are a few ways to quantify the effectiveness of your online engagement: oThe number of incoming traffic from links oHow many people subscribed to your RSS feed oHow many people on your list of friends oThe number of track backs to posts oUse conversation tracking tools such as Twitter Search oThe number of comments on posts oThe number of increased sales and general inquiries Although the above tips will help you start getting a foothold on social media platforms, there are plenty more you have to do to attract the right type of audience.
In the end, you know your brand better than anyone else, even more than your digital marketing agency.
Find other tips to fully utilise the benefits of internet marketing, then apply what works best for your brand.