Miss Ink's Three C's of Social Media Marketing

BNI Coral Gables and I was told that it was very helpful to several people in the room.  I didn’t deliver a complicated presentation, however, I focused on three basic principles of effective social media marketing that I have dubbed “Miss Ink’s Three C’s of Social Media Marketing.” These are very simple concepts that I have written about before, however, after the presentation, it was clear that many people can benefit from this information. Whether you’re new to the game, or have a daily social media regimen, these three concepts are the foundation of effective social media marketing. So, just what are “Miss Ink’s Three C’s of Social Media Marketing”?  I’m glad you asked because here we go: 1. Content: What’s in it for me? This is the question that every single person asks before purchasing a product or service. Post information in your blogs and on your social networks that people will find useful and interesting. For example, if I simply wrote “Buy from Miss Ink” as the title of this blog, would you read it? Yeah, I didn’t think so. However, you are reading this article because it provides information of value to you. Go ahead and get creative but post information that’s relative your business and expertise.  I love the Frosty fan page on Facebook by Wendy’s.  It focuses on something that is a popular item on the restaurant’s menu but it does so in a witty way that keeps people interested. 2. Consistency: If you have a Twitter account, but are only tweeting once a week or worse, once a month, you’re completely missing the boat. You have to be consistent. The Internet world moves at a lighting fast pace. Status updates, tweets, blogs: they are all like flashes of lighting, here one second, gone the next. Of course the information you post doesn’t just disappear, but with so much information being shared, your tweet may be washed away by someone else’s in a flash. That’s because new information is being posted every second of every day and the likelihood that someone will actively search out what you post is really low. If you’re not sharing information on a regular basis, how can you expect to keep up?  It’s the tried and true marketing principle of repetitive communication.  I’m not saying you need to bombard your fans with new status updates, blogs or emails every 5 minutes. But, what I am saying is be consistent by logging on everyday.  I recommend making it part of your daily schedule. 3. Conversation: Third but certainly not last is conversation.  Let’s go back to the networking event example.  If someone stands up and gives you a testimonial, would you just ignore it or would you thank them for their kind words. I’m going to bet (or at the very least hope) that you said the latter. This is the same idea with social media. If someone comments on a blog that you wrote or retweets one of your tweets, thank them.  Similarly, participate in the conversation by “listening” (i.e., reading) what others are saying and then respond. In other words, get involved.  Communication is the only way to build relationships and that has to be a two way street. Of course there is much more to social media marketing than these three concepts, but if you can remember “Miss Ink’s three C’s of Social Media Marketing” you’ll be on your way to powerful results.