Social media is not a place to target as many consumers as possible. It is not a place for the corporate logo or the classic salespit. Social media is just that - social. Which means it is a place for people and their individual passions.
Social media is for people and passions, but for widely different people and different passions. Locating them is one thing, and providing them with good, share friendly content is another.
Danielle Brigida is National Social Media Manager at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and she is constantly at work identifying her audiences, creating great content and securing the link between the two.
This isn’t for everyone - locate your community
This is really a basic lesson in communication, but one that tends to get overlooked or neglected on a day to day basis: If you communicate to everyone, you communicate to no one. Instead listen to the conversation on social media and locate the people who are already passionate or at least interested in your topic.
Obviously Google Analytics can be a great tool for this, but also simply tuning in to the conversation can be equally advantageous. There are simple tools that can help you do this, like Twittertool which lets you view tweets in an organized grit.
Take this - empower them
When targeting these people on social media, maybe don’t think as much in direct sales as in ambassadors. Yes, a sale is always the main prize on the short circuit, but in the long run, getting these people to spread your message thereby building a larger community could do more for you.
And the best way to empower your community is by supplying them with high quality content to share.
Evergreen content
Understand that content that is always popular - evergreen content - is the basis for everything. Don’t create too much new content, trying to capture the latest trends. Instead, adapt your evergreen content and expose it when the conversation calls for it. Timing is important; don’t squander your best work.
Focusing on evergreen content does not mean you should never create content with a short lifespan. But it does mean understanding the need for a core of high quality content which everything else you do should gravitate towards.
Content with a short lifespan should ideally relate closely to your evergreen content, and your evergreen content should be up to date or fashioned in a time proven manner.