Tuesday Tips: Be Authentic

This week's tip comes from another great quote from the CEO of Boom! Social. It's pretty good advice if you think about it a little bit.

“Be honest, be warm, be authentic, and put yourself in the shoes of your customers on social media.”
Kim Garst, CEO of Boom! Social
@KimGarst

Don't just be a brander, think like a customer. If this wasn't your product, would you want to be seeing this on social media of a product you follow?  If the answer is no, don't post it. For example - most people don't want to see politics or religion (unless the brand is a religion or political figure) on a product/company's Facebook page. A good tip to remember is if it's a topic you avoid in public situations to avoid uncomfortableness, you may want to avoid it on social media as well.

A big problem many social media managers face is trying to emulate other brands and be something they aren't. Be you. Be your brand. Be unique and stand out. Engage your fanbase (be warm) and answer as honestly as you can (without revealing information you don't want revealed - like how do you do this?)

The most successful social media marketers get their fanbase to like and interact - whether it be by asking/answering questions, sharing fun tidbits or trying something else out. Check out some of the social media sites for brands you follow and watch how they handle things. You may learn from it!

Enjoy!

Tuesday Tips are a series of tips released on Tuesday each week regarding a hint or tip to help you manage and market your Facebook presence better.  You can find all the Tuesday Tips by clicking on the Tuesday Tips tag below.

Tuesday Tips: Watch and learn

Today's tip comes from a quote from Twitter:

“Be a lurker in social media before diving in to learn the ropes and create a strategy that will work for your biz.”
--Alyssa Gregory, The Small Business Bonfire
@AlyssaGregory

Or, to summarize: Watch and learn.

This is actually pretty solid advice if you stop to think about it. You can learn a lot about social media by watching brands similar to yours to see what they do, what they do successfully and learn from it, then adapt it to what you want to do with your brand.

When I first started out in social media, I did a lot of watching. Then I attended a few small conferences here and there to learn more.  These conferences offered some of the same advice - look at what your competitors are doing, then mimic it.  But when you mimic, don't make the mistake and do exactly what they are doing.  Customize it and make it your own.

Making something your own is what makes you unique in the world of social media. Take what you see working for someone else and turn it into something that works for you.

Good luck!

Tuesday Tips are a series of tips released on Tuesday each week regarding a hint or tip to help you manage and market your Facebook presence better.  You can find all the Tuesday Tips by clicking on the Tuesday Tips tag below.